Albany, NY—The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team hosted the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon in the Empire 8 opener for both teams. Stevens would collect a 74-64 win after a late-game run spurred the Ducks to the victory in Kahl Gym. The win puts Stevens at 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the Empire 8, while Sage drops to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the league.
Stevens led 37-32 at the break and Sage used a strong start to the second half to overtake the Ducks at 13:58 as junior guard Darius Denmark (Orlando, FL/Evans) hit a jumper giving the Gators their first lead of the game, 46-44. Sage went on to build a five point lead, 52-47 at 11:47. Stevens would tie the action at 6:39, 58-58 as junior Dylan Walsh (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) hit a lay-up. The Ducks went on an 8-0 run and built their lead to 66-58 with 3:23 left.
Stevens was paced by the play of senior guard Kevin Florio (Stamford, CT/St. Luke's) with 22 points. Senior forward Ryan Coffey (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) added 12 points with eight rebounds. Sophomore center Alec DiPietrantonio (Mount Laurel, NJ/Bishop Eustace) finished with a game-high 16 rebounds with nine points and three blocked shots. He had 12 boards in the first half and was limited to just 10 minutes of play in the second half after getting in early foul trouble.
Junior Isaiah Scurry (Albany, NY/Albany) finished with 16 points and six boards for the Gators and had 11 points in the first half. Denmark collected 11 points and added three assists and made two three-pointers in the contest.
Steven's had four players finish with double-digits including junior guard Michael Zignorski (Jefferson, NJ/Pope John XXIII) finished with 11 points as the team combined to shoot 47.4% from three-point range, while holding Sage to 22.2% from long distance.
Sage is back in action on December 4 travelling to SUNY-New Paltz for a 7 p.m. non-conference game, while Stevens will host Brooklyn College also on December 4 in a 7 pm. Non-conference game.
