WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (January 13, 2024) - Junior Jack Spellman scored 25 points and had 18 rebounds as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team narrowly defeated King's 93-91 after overtime in MAC Freedom play Saturday afternoon.

The 25 points is a season-high for Spellman, who combined for 43 points and rebounds on the day, which is also his most in a game this year. The Ducks jump back into the win column as they improve to 12-3 and 3-1 in MAC Freedom play. The Ducks are now on their third winning streak of the season. King's fell to 9-6 and 1-3 in MAC Freedom play with the loss. Stevens remains in third place in the conference while King's is fifth.

King's opened the game on an 8-2 run that amassed the first four minutes of the half. Graduate student Stephen Braunstein then hit back-to-back triples to tie the game at eight. Stevens took their first lead of the game when first-year Xander Singh made a layup at the 13:24 mark. Down 17-16, the Ducks went on a 10-0 run, capped off by a three by graduate student Conor Coffey, to give them a 26-17 lead. After the Monarchs ended the run with a two, senior Mike Goodall banged home a triple on the other end that put Stevens up 10. Sophomore Matt Leming got into the action from range, as he made a three with 2:26 to go in the half. Spellman's first basket of the game came less than a minute later as the Ducks went up nine. The high scoring first half ended 38-32 in favor of Stevens.

Goodall kicked off the second half with a three and Spellman followed with a jumper which put Stevens up 11, their largest lead of the game. Chris Patton made a three at the 13:39 mark that trimmed the Duck down to lead three. First-year Ritchie Machado responded with the next five points for Stevens that pushed the Duck advantage back up to five. The Monarchs would then tie the game at 55 with 11:23 to go. A few minutes later with the Ducks up two, first-year Kyle Maddison made a big triple that restored the five point lead. Spellman scored the next five for the Ducks. Up one with 3:12 to go, Goodall made another timely three for Stevens. King's would end up tying the game with just over a minute to go, but Spellman made a big-time bucket with 40 seconds left to go up two, which King's would ultimately answer back 16 seconds later, to force overtime as the teams were tied at 79.

Spellman continued to carry the load as he scored the first six points in overtime to keep pace with King's, as the score was tied at 85 with 2:26 to go. Coffey buried a triple on the next Duck possession to go up three with 2:14 to go in the extra frame. Singh made a layup at the 1:02 mark that gave Stevens a four-point cushion. Up 92-88, the Ducks fouled King's on a three-point attempt, and the Monarchs converted all three. King's then fouled Goodall, who went one for two at the line. Down two with the ball, the Monarchs went for the win, but missed the potential game-winning three pointer as the Ducks held on for a 93-91 win. 

Top Performers

• Spellman also added four blocks.
• Goodall scored 15 points and went a perfect four for four from three.
• Maddison had 12 points and two assists off the bench.
• Braunstein scored 11 points and tallied three assists.
• Coffey scored six points and had seven assists.
• Stevens shot 47.2 percent (34-72) from the field and 44.0 percent (11-25) from three. The Ducks also went 14-18 (77.8%) from the line.

The Opponent

• Patton scored 29 points.
• Garrett Burys scored 24 points and grabbed nine boards.
• Eamonn Walsh recorded 14 points and added eight helpers.
• King's shot 48.7 percent (37-76) from the field and 35.3 percent (6-17) from three. They also went 11-14 from the free throw line (78.6%).

Around the MAC Freedom

• Lebanon Valley 60, DeSales 98
• Misericordia 81, FDU-Florham 62
• Delaware Valley 62, Arcadia 71

Up Next: The Ducks continue conference play on the road Wednesday as they visit DeSales. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Ducks are 2-5 all-time against the King's, but have lost the last three in Center Valley, including in the MAC Freedom semifinals last season. Jack Spellman had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks in the contest. Links for live stats and video are posted to stevensducks.com