HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 18, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team took care of business on Friday night, defeating Elmira College 71-55 at the Canavan Arena to set up a matchup with Ithaca College for the regular season Empire 8 title and the No. 1 seed in the Empire 8 Championship Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Sophomore guard Sheldon Jones scored a game-high 17 points and junior forward Simon Smith recorded his 14th double-double of the season as third-year head coach Bobby Hurley earned the 50th win of his career.
Stevens took an early 8-3 lead thanks to a three-pointer from sophomore guard Russ Thompson and a three-point play from Jones. Thompson found junior forward Simon Smith underneath for a layup to give the Ducks a 12-7 lead 5:59 into the game, but the Soaring Eagles tallied four quick points to trim the margin to one with 12:49 left in the first half.
Stevens followed by going on a 12-1 run over a span of 7:38 to open up a 24-12 advantage with 5:11 left in the opening period, with senior center Bryan Franklin leading the Ducks with four points in the spurt. Elmira was able to respond, outscoring the Ducks 9-2 over the half’s final 4:26 thanks to a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Bobby DiPiazza (Wyckoff, N.J.) and one from junior guard Eric Klinedinst (York, Pa.), and the Ducks went into the locker room with a 26-21 lead.
Stevens shot 39.3 percent (11-for-28) in the first and was 1-for-4 from deep. Elmira shot 26.7 percent in the opening 20 and connected of 28.6 percent (4-for-14) of its three-point field-goal attempts.
Stevens quickly pushed its halftime lead to 13, outscoring Elmira 11-3 in the first 3:45 of the second stanza. The Ducks would stay ahead comfortably, eventually expanding the lead to 17 after a layup from freshman forward Patrick Sabatino with 10:14 to play.
Elmira trimmed the Duck lead to nine on several occasions but could get no closer, and down the stretch Stevens was able to expand the lead to 19 twice before winning by a 71-55 final.
The Ducks shot 53.6 percent in the second half and 46.4 percent (26-for-56) on the game. They hit four (of 10) three-pointers and went 15-for-21 (71.4 percent) from the line. Jones had 17 points and five boards, while Smith had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Franklin netted eight points and five rebounds, and Thompson had eight points and six assists. Sabatino had nine points, five rebounds, and two blocks, and junior guard Mike Cutri tallied eight points and grabbed four rebounds. Stevens ended the game with a 43-28 advantage on the glass and tallied 15 assists, nine steals, and five blocks. The Stevens bench contributed 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and all five swats.
Elmira was led by DiPiazza with 15 points and eight rebounds. The Soaring Eagles shot 34.5 percent (19-for-55) from the field and 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from three. They were 9-for-13 from the free-throw line.
Stevens honored Franklin prior to the game as it was Senior Night at Canavan Arena. On Saturday, Stevens will welcome all of its alumni for Alumni Day.