INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (February 25, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team is ranked fourth in the East Region according to the latest Regional Rankings released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Thursday. The Ducks are 19-6 in-region and overall as they head into the Empire 8 Championship semifinals on Friday against Hartwick College.
SUNY Oswego tops the East with a 22-3 overall and in-region mark, while Empire 8 rival and regular-season champ Ithaca College is second at 19-5 in-region and 20-5 overall. The University of Rochester is third (19-3 in-region, 20-4 overall).
Stevens is the second seed in the Empire 8 Tournament after compiling 12 conference wins against just four losses. Hartwick is the three seed as the Hawks went 10-6 in the league and 15-10 overall. The two teams split a pair of contests this year. Stevens won 72-57 in Hoboken last Tuesday after holding the Hawks to 35.1 percent shooting, and Hartwick won an 82-78 thriller in Oneonta back on January 25.
The Ducks will be led by first-team all-conference selection Simon Smith. The junior forward leads the league in rebounding and is seventh nationally, pulling down 12.3 boards per game. He is averaging over 13 points per contest and already holds the Stevens all-time and single-season rebounding records. Sophomore guard Sheldon Jones earned a second-team All-Empire 8 nod after leading the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and has been remarkably efficient all season, shooting better than 50 percent from the field, 47 percent from the three-point land, and 82 percent from the charity stripe.
Hartwick is led by Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Jared Suderly (Newport, N.Y.) and first-team all-conference selection junior forward Chris Ryder (Port Washington, N.Y.). Suderly is second on the team with 17.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while Ryder leads the team in both categories (17.5 points, 7.9 rebounds). Senior guard Mark Blazek (Erie, Pa.) will also be a factor having poured in more than 1,000 points in his career.
Visit the links above for more information about the team’s two meetings this season, and Regional Rankings.
Friday’s game-time is slated an 8 p.m tip. Tickets are $4 for adults and children under 12 are free with all the action being webcast live at http://stevens.nmtvsports.com.