Needing only one point to reach the 2,500 point plateau, Hoyt scored the opening basket of the game at the 19:36 mark of the first half. He became only the 12th player in the history of Division III men’s basketball to reach the milestone.
The lead changed hands nine times in the first half, with the Ducks eventually coming away with a 38-36 lead at half time. Stevens opened up a six point lead in the opening minute of the second half and it seemed as if they were going to take control of the game. But Mount Saint Mary responded, eventually taking their first lead of the second half on a three-pointer from Mike Hoyt. Following a Stevens bucket, the ensuing 9-0 run by the Blue Knights gave them an eight point cushion and control of the game.
Hoyt finished with 57 points in the game, giving him 868 points for the season and 2,556 for his career. He shot 16-for-31 from the field while connecting on seven three-pointers. The senior drained all eighteen of his free throw attempts and also dished out six assists. Sophomore Chris Harrison (Baldwin, NY) played well inside for the Mount, scoring 14 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Senior Matt Cutney (Wallkill, NY) also reached double figures for MSMC with 10 points.
For Stevens, sophomore Anthony Passalacqua (Staten Island, NY) led five Ducks in double figures with 21 points. Junior Waleed Farid (Woodside, NY) scored 19 points and had 13 rebounds, but struggled mightily from the free throw line, connecting on only five of fifteen attempts. As a team, Stevens shot only 53% from the free throw line in the game.
The win for Mount Saint Mary is their ninth of the season and they will be the eighth seed in the year-end Skyline Conference tournament. Stevens dropped to 20-5 overall and fell to the second position in the Skyline. In the postseason, the Blue Knights will hit the road for an opening round match-up with Manhattanville. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, February 20.
Newspaper Box Score Stevens vs Mount Saint Mary College 2/17/07 4:30 PM at Kaplan Center, Newburgh, NY At Kaplan Center, Newburgh, NY MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE 95, STEVENS 77 STEVENS (20-5, 13-3 Sky) PASSALACQUA, Anthony 6-8 7-7 21; FARID, Waleed 7-18 5-15 19; GRAY II, Virgil 4-12 3-4 11; COLLINS, Michael 5-6 1-2 11; MORRIS, Floyd 4-7 2-4 10; GRECO, George 2-5 0-0 5; WILLIAMS, Nathaniel 0-1 0-2 0; MASONE, Ian 0-0 0-0 0; GORDON, Seth 0-0 0-0 0; HIGGINS, Matt 0-1 0-0 0; AYODELE, Joseph 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 18-34 77. MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE (9-16, 6-10 Sky) Hoyt, Mike 16-31 18-18 57; Harrison, Chris 7-10 0-6 14; Cutney, Matt 3-4 2-2 10; Cunningham, Matt 2-3 2-2 7; Cardez, Jason 1-3 0-0 3; Begley, Kieran 0-2 2-4 2; Johnson, Troy 0-0 2-2 2; Peters, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; McWalters, Rich 0-0 0-0 0; Morris, Charles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 26-34 95. Stevens....................... 38 39 - 77 Mount Saint Mary College...... 36 59 - 95 3-point goals-Stevens 3-10 (PASSALACQUA, Anthony 2-3; GRECO, George 1-3; GRAY II, Virgil 0-2; FARID, Waleed 0-2), Mount Saint Mary College 11-23 (Hoyt, Mike 7-16; Cutney, Matt 2-3; Cunningham, Matt 1-1; Cardez, Jason 1-1; Begley, Kieran 0-2). Fouled out--Stevens-None, Mount Saint Mary College-Harrison, Chris; McWalters, Rich. Rebounds-Stevens 38 (FARID, Waleed 13), Mount Saint Mary College 33 (Harrison, Chris 14). Assists-Stevens 13 (FARID, Waleed 5), Mount Saint Mary College 19 (Hoyt, Mike 6). Total fouls-Stevens 31, Mount Saint Mary College 24. A-1257