PASADENA, Calif. (November 27, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team improved to 5-1 on the season Sunday, gutting out a 63-49 win over Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. Stevens was led by 20 points and 14 rebounds from senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) and a game-high 23 points from junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.).
The Ducks came out quickly, jumping out to an 8-2 lead five minutes into the game, but Occidental clawed back and was able to take a 26-25 lead into the locker room behind strong defense and some cold shooting by the Ducks.
Oxy opened the second period with five points to extend its one-point halftime lead to six at 31-25. Stevens, which missed its first seven shots of the half, came back with a 16-5 run to regain the edge at 41-36 with under 13 minutes remaining. The spurt was highlighted by three-pointers from junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) and sophomore forward Kevin McManamy (Charlotte, N.C.), and a nifty three-point play by Jones.
Stevens maintained a solid working margin for the next six-plus minutes, and following 2-for-2 at the line from Smith and a put-back from sophomore forward Max Schwartz (Bridgewater, N.J.), the Ducks were quietly up 10 with 6:30 to go.
A pair of second-chance buckets from the Tigers trimmed the Stevens lead to seven with less then five on the clock, and after a stop on the next Duck possession, 1-for-2 at the line from Dashon McCoy (Los Angeles, Calif.) made it a six-point game (55-49) with 4:11 left.
Stevens kept its composure and received a pair of big buckets from Jones, one set up by McManamy and one facilitated by Cutri to push the margin back to 10 and coast to the win.
Stevens shot 23-for-67 (34.3 percent) from the field and 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) from three. The Ducks did however convert 13 of their 14 free-throw attempts and win the battle on the glass, 43-34. Stevens had 13 assists against just 11 turnovers.
Smith added two assists, two steals and a block to his 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Jones shot 9-for-17 from the field for his 23 points, grabbed four rebounds, and handed out a pair of helpers. McManamy had six points on 2-for-5 from three-point land while also pulling down four boards and handing out two assists.
Occidental (2-3) was paced by forward Jake Copithorne (Los Angeles, Calif.) who scored 19 points on 8-of-14 from the field. The Ducks held the Tigers to 29.9 percent shooting (20-for-67) and 19.0 percent from long range (4-for-21).