Box Score
TROY, N.Y. – Senior
Mike Brion (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) scored a team-high 16 points, but the Rensselaer men's basketball team fell to Stevens Institute of Technology, 85-71, in non-league action, this evening at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Ducks improve to 7-1 overall, while the Engineers fall to 6-4.
Brion, who was playing in just his second game of the season, picked up 16 points on 6 of 13 shooting, including 3 of 6 from beyond the three-point arc. He added four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
After getting into early foul trouble in the first half, Stevens' junior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) was the second half spark the Ducks needed, scoring all of his 14 points in the second half. He gave the visitors a 49-47 lead with 14:37 to play in the game and they never trailed the rest of the way, outscoring the Engineers, 36-24, over the final 14 minutes.
The Ducks shot 60.7% (17 for 28) from the field in the second half, and opened up their largest lead of the game (75-58) on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) with 3:46 remaining.
The Engineers battled back from an early first half deficit to take a 38-37 lead at the break. Brion came off the bench to notch seven points and haul in three rebounds in a team-high 11 first-half minutes. Freshman
Joe Gibbons (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint John the Baptist) and junior
Matthew Pooley (Middletown, NY/Chapel Field Christian School) recorded eight and seven points in the first, respectively.
Carrying the offensive load for Stevens in the first 20 stanza was sophomore guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, NY/Townsend), who tossed in a game-best 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor through 20 minutes. He finished with a game-high 18 points, as five Ducks finished in double-figures.
Sophomore Kevin MacManamy (Charlotte, NC/Cannon) was a perfect 3 for 3 from the field (2 for 2 from three) on his way to eight first half points.
The Engineers return to action on January 14, and 15, when they open their Liberty League schedule against North Country-rivals St. Lawrence (8pm) and Clarkson (4pm), respectively. The Ducks visit Empire 8 foe RIT on Friday (8pm).
