BOX SCORE

HOBOKEN, N.J.- The Babson College men's basketball team fell to host Stevens Institute of Technology, 75-60, in the final game of the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday afternoon. Four of five Duck (2-1) starters scored in double figures and the defense held Babson to 36.1 percent shooting on the day as Stevens finished its own tournament 2-0. Stevens sophomore guard Mike Cutri led all scorers with 18 points and senior guard George Greco scored 13 points and racked up seven assists.

Stevens fell behind 7-2 early but came right back to tie thanks to a three from Cutri and a one-handed Dunk by senior captain Ian Masone. The two teams traded buckets for the next two minutes before the Ducks took their first lead of the game 6:59 in when freshman guard Sheldon Jones sank a pair of free throws.

Down 12-11 with 12:49 left in the first, the Ducks went on a 14-4 run over a span of 4:39 to build a 25-16 advantage with just about eight minutes remaining in the first half. Sophomore forward Simon Smith had six points in the run and Greco had four.

The Beavers (2-1) were able to trim the lead to three on several occasions, but Stevens always seemed to have the answer and went into the locker room with a 34-27 edge after Greco buried a three on the right side with seven seconds showing on the clock.

The Ducks were able to extend the lead to 10 early in the second half when Greco found Cutri on the left side for an open three, but Babson erupted on a 15-5 run over the next 6:25 to tie the game at 45 with 12:40 to play.

After Beaver freshman Alex Rudolph (Bal Harbour, Fla.) drilled a jumper to tie, Stevens senior forward Matt Higgins found freshman guard Russ Thompson open up top and the rookie drilled a big-time three. From that point on Stevens would never let go of the lead, going on a 12-5 spurt to build a 57-50 edge with 7:45 remaining.

The Ducks got the lead back to double figures (65-54) after Cutri forced a Babson turnover and converted a 15-foot jumper from the left elbow on the ensuing possession. Then, 1:07 later, Cutri rebounded and then got fouled on the other end and knocked down two free throws to make it 70-56 Stevens with 3:11 to play. Greco made it 72-56 Stevens with a layup and the Beavers would never threaten again.

As a team, the Ducks shot 58.0 percent for the game (61 percent in the second half). Stevens shot 54.5 percent from long range (6-for-15) and hit 11-of-17 at the free-throw line.

Babson was led by 16 points and five rebounds from junior Dana Mauro (Wethersfield, Conn.). First-year Marcus McDermott (Milton, Mass.) was the only other Beaver in double figures with 12 points. First-year Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in eight points and sophomore guard Matt Florio (Skillman, N.J.) added seven points. Sophomore Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) led the Beavers with seven rebounds.

The Beavers return to action Tuesday night when they travel to Emerson for a 5:30pm game.