Stevens Uses Solid Defensive Effort to Top Nazareth
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (January 8, 2011) – Senior Bryan Franklin finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while a solid Ducks defense held Nazareth to a paltry 24.3 (18-for-74) shooting percentage, as the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team earned a hard-fought 60-52 victory over Nazareth College at Kidera Gymnasium in Rochester, N.Y. With the win, the Ducks moved to 8-2 overall on the year with a 2-1 league ledger, while the Golden Flyers fell to 7-5 on the season with a 0-3 mark against conference opponents.
Tyshun Stephens (Newark, N.Y.) opened up scoring, burying a three on Nazareth’s first possession, but the Ducks responded with a 7-2 run on a pair of Franklin jumpers and a Mike Cutri three-point play. Golden Flyers’ sophomore forward Dan Waldbilling (Pittsford, N.Y.) then connected on a couple of tries from the charity stripe, but Franklin again responded, this time tallying four-consecutive points to stake Stevens to an 11-5 edge.
Nazareth would notch five of the game’s next seven points, pulling within three on a Jason Corletta (Pittsford, N.Y.) triple, before a pair of Patrick Sabatino free-throws and a Simon Smith layup put the Ducks ahead 17-10 with 10:57 remaining in the first half.
Still up seven at 19-12, sophomore Russ Thompson and Franklin hit consecutive baskets, before freshman Andrew Meszaros nailed a jumper to put the Ducks up 11. Nazareth junior center Greg Lothridge (Syracuse, N.Y.) hit from down low to momentarily slow the Stevens surge, but a Sheldon Jones three followed by another Franklin jumper gave the Ducks a 14-point cushion with 3:55 left in the frame.
Hoping to keep pace, Corletta connected on two-straight threes, before junior Phil Scaffidi (Buffalo, N.Y.) put the wraps on a 10-0 Nazareth run to close out the half as the Golden Flyers headed to the locker room down 28-24.
Smith got Stevens going to start the second, notching a pair of buckets before freshman Jake Fladd (Angola, N.Y.) put Nazareth on the board with a jumper. Simon answered by notching his sixth point of the frame, putting the Ducks up 34-26, but Corletta once again dialed it in from distance, trimming the margin to five with just under 16 minutes to go.
Still down by five at the 11:16 mark, Waldbilling hit a layup to slice the Stevens lead to three, but Cutri converted a triple on the Ducks’ next possession to push the lead to six. Up 41-37 with just over nine minutes remaining, Smith tallied six of the game’s next seven points before a Thompson layup swelled the Stevens lead to 13.
After several scoreless minutes, Scaffidi and Corletta drained back-to-back treys, quickly cutting the deficit to seven with 3:21 remaining. Franklin would stem the tide with a jumper, making it 52-43 Stevens, but Corletta again hit from long range to cut it to six with just 43 seconds remaining. From there Thompson and Cutri combined to go 8-for-8 from the line, sealing the Ducks victory.
Smith finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Cutri added eight points, 12 boards and three assists. Thompson added 10 points in the win, while Jones added seven points, four rebounds, and three assists. Corletta led all scorers with 20 points on six three-pointers, while Scaffidi added 18 points and seven rebounds. Stephens finished with six points and nine rebounds in the loss.