Stevens Gets Thrilling OT Triumph Over NYU to Close 2013 Slate
Rob Kulish
Postgame Interview
HOBOKEN, N.J. (December 10, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team defeated New York University, 68-65, in overtime Tuesday night in front of a raucous crowd at the Canavan Arena.
The win is the second in Stevens history over the Violets and third-straight for the Ducks who are now 4-3 overall.
The Violets (6-1) were able to overcome a big-time Stevens lead to take an eight-point lead of their own with 11:02 to play in the second half.
Four-straight points from the Ducks made it 42-38 with 8:51 on the clock, but the Violets quickly answered to go back up eight at the 7:33 mark. A big three-pointer from senior guard
Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) brought the Ducks back within five, and after a defensive stop, a Meszaros layup thanks to an assist from senior guard
Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) made it 46-43 with 6:30 left.
A pair at the line from Skrelja cut the NYU lead to one (48-47), but the Ducks struggled to get back over the hump as the Violets continued to make enough plays to remain ahead for much of the final 10-plus minutes of regulation.
Down six with 3:22 left, junior forward
Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) hit 1-of-2 at the line, and an jumper from sophomore guard
Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.) on Stevens' next time down trimmed the lead to three with 2:06 remaining. Another stop and conversion on the other end – this time a jumper in the paint from Skrelja – and Stevens was back within one point at the 1:35 mark.
NYU scored on its next possession, but the Ducks came right back and Klimchak converted two free throws after securing his own offensive rebound to pull Stevens within one at 55-54 with 1:20 to go.
Skrelja was whistled for a tough foul on the next NYU possession, but the Violets hit just 1-of-2 at the line giving the Ducks the ball after a timeout with 24 seconds to go. On the ensuing play, Stevens was able to get Skrelja the ball in the post with a favorable matchup and the veteran made his shot count, spinning to his left hand and converting a layup from the left block with nine seconds on the clock to send the game to overtime.
In the OT, Skrelja put Stevens up two, and after Sabatino stole a pass, Klimchak sliced through the lane and converted a monster three-point play to make it 61-56 Ducks with 3:28 left. NYU scored on its next chance, and 1-of-2 at the line for Sabatino pushed the lead back to four as the two teams traded buckets over the next 90 seconds.
Leading by two (64-62) with 41 seconds to go after NYU could not hit the free-throw on a chance for a three-point play, the Ducks failed to secure the rebound but were able to play excellent defense, getting a Sabatino blocked shot and a defensive board from Meszaros to force NYU to foul. Skrelja hit both his free throws with 12 ticks left to make it 66-62 Stevens.
NYU hit a three with 6.1 remaining to get within one again, but two Sabatino free throws with four seconds left pushed the lead back to three points and NYU was unable to go the length of the court on its final possession.
The first half of action saw major runs by each team with the Ducks jumping out to a big early lead, and the guests fighting back within six (29-23) at the break.
Stevens took the upper hand in the opening moments, going on top 14-4 6:37 into the game on the back of seven points from Sabatino. A three-pointer from the Violets cut the lead to seven (14-7), but a 9-0 spurt by the Ducks made it a 23-7 game with 7:38 in the half. Sabatino's second triple of the half capped the run for Stevens.
NYU responded, outscoring Stevens 16-7 over the final 5:57 of the period to trim the hosts lead to six as the two teams went into the locker room.
Stevens shot 44.4 percent from the field and hit just 5-of-22 attempts from long range. The Ducks went 15-for-21 from the line as each team grabbed 33 rebounds.
Sabatino led Stevens with 17 points on 10 shots and seven rebounds. Skrelja had 16 points, two assists and three rebounds, and Klimchak had 14 points and three helpers. Meszaros tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals, with Gan getting five points and four boards as the Ducks did a great job battling a bigger NYU team on the glass.
Stevens scored 30 points in the paint, 20 points off turnovers and were a plus-three in the turnover department (18 for NYU, 15 for Stevens).
NYU shot 47.2 percent from the field, 20 percent from three (3-for-15) and went 12-for-18 at the line. Senior guard
Ryan Tana (Belmont, Calif.) and sophomore forward
Evan Kupferberg (Boca Raton, Fla.) led the Violets with 17 and 16 points respectively. Tana added six assists, six rebounds and four steals, and Kupferberg had seven rebounds.
The Ducks will head into the final exam and winter break period before returning to action with its first conference games of the year on January 3 and 4 in the Canavan Arena.