Reading, Pa. – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team saw its second-half rally fall just short, as the Ducks were topped by Albright College 79-74 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon.
Harmehar Chhabra flirted with a triple-double, stuffing the stat sheet with six points, seven boards, and seven assists, while
Tommy Scholl led Stevens (4-3) with 16 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stevens netted the first four points of the contest, including a tip-in by
Kyle Maddison off a Chhabra miss. The Lions responded with a 17-2 spurt over the next four minutes to open an 11-point edge. Consecutive jumpers by
Matt Leming and Maddison whittled the deficit to seven before the hosts knocked down threes on back-to-back possessions, prompting a Stevens timeout at the 10:52 mark.
Chhabra got the Ducks going again at the 8:43 mark, converting a layup off a feed from Scholl. The basket sparked a 9-0 Stevens run, with
Jonathan Nsenkyire and Scholl finishing off the rally to trim the margin to four. Seven straight points by Albright followed, but Stevens closed the half with the final four points to trail by six at the break.
A triple from the home side pushed the lead back to double digits at 12 just 1:35 into the second half, but Scholl countered with his lone three of the afternoon. Down 49-40 with 16:47 remaining, Stevens held Albright scoreless for the next 3:36 and went on a 10-0 run to take a 50-49 lead.
Peter Gray buried a three to put the Ducks in front 53-51, then knocked down his third of the day to stretch the advantage to six — the largest Stevens lead of the afternoon.
After Stevens corralled a pair of offensive rebounds,
Evan Gutowski converted a layup to make it 64-57 with 6:52 left. The Lions answered with five straight points before two Scholl free throws brought the lead back to four at 66-62. Four consecutive Albright points knotted the game at 66, but Scholl responded with four straight of his own to push the Ducks ahead 70-66 with 3:42 remaining.
A layup at 2:59 made it a two-point game, and Albright tied the contest at 70 with 2:19 left. Gutowski hit a jumper in the paint to put Stevens back in front with 1:51 remaining, but the Lions regained the lead on a Chase McWhite three. Gutowski again put Stevens ahead by tipping in a Maddison miss with exactly one minute left. Albright answered once more, taking a 74-72 lead on a Jeremiah Stanton layup with 50 seconds to go. Two free throws extended the margin to three, and Stevens turned the ball over with 1.1 seconds left before the hosts iced the game at the line.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Chhabra matched his career high with seven assists while also tying a season high with seven rebounds.
- Gray went 3-for-5 from behind the arc for a career-high nine points and is now 6-for-10 from three on the season.
- Stevens outrebounded the Lions 40-28, including a 12-5 edge on the offensive glass.
- Olu Olaniran made his Stevens debut, knocking down a three-pointer in three minutes off the bench.
UP NEXT
The Ducks continue their three-game road trip on Wednesday, heading to Schenectady, N.Y., to face Union College at 5:00 p.m.
