On Saturday, December 31, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams went up against Arcadia University in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom action. The women’s team left with a 84-60 loss, and the men’s team with a win at 82-79.
The women’s team performed first with their game at 1 p.m. The Ducks outscored the Knights in the second half of their game, 84-60, but still faced a loss by the end of it. The first half of the game left the Ducks struggling, with points being put up by seniors Dorothy Loffredo, Audrey Kehoe, Leyla Castro, and Olivia Schubiger, and sophomore Katherine Bogutsky. Despite early layups from Loffredo and Kehoe, the Knights held the Ducks scoreless for 6:49 in the first quarter, managing to score 20 points. Schubiger was able to get some points for the Ducks, but Arcadia responded swiftly with 15 straight points.
The second half opened with Bogutsky scoring, Stevens going on a 10-3 scoring run. Both teams traded baskets, with Schubiger scoring six points and Loffredo managing to cut Arcadia’s lead to 21 points ahead at 66-45. More scoring from Loffredo and Schubiger cut the deficit to 19, but they were not able to pull through with a win. By the end of the game, Schubiger had recorded her third 20-point game of the season, with 22 points matching her career high. Bogutsky came in with 10 points, and Loffredo collected seven rebounds, which tied first-year Maya Abramson for the team lead.
The men’s team followed with their game at 3 p.m. The action in the first half opened up quickly, with the teams trading baskets to tie them at eight. The Ducks then followed with a 7-0 point run, shortly followed by a three-minute run with a scoreless Arcadia. Points in the first half were put up by juniors Kyle Maddison, Tommy Scholl, Harmehar Chhabra, and Anthony Loscalzo. A three-pointer was put up by the Knights, but the Ducks didn’t let that slow them down, coming back with a 9-1 point run to give them a double-digit lead. Both teams consistently put up points, but Maddison ended the first half with a layup, sending them into halftime with a leading score of 48-34.
The Ducks dominated when the second half started, scoring eight out of the 11 points, with shots from Scholl and Maddison. Senior Brendan Coughlan gave the Ducks their greatest lead of 22 points, but Arcadia was quick to leave the Ducks scoreless after that, going on a 15-0 point run. Throughout the rest of the second half, there were points put up by senior Matt Leming, Loscalzo, Scholl, Coughlan, and Maddison. With the game almost over, Arcadia was able to get its score up, cutting the deficit to four with a score of 71-67. The Ducks were able to regrow their lead slightly, but the Knights fought back hard with the game ending at a final score of 82-79. Scholl ended the game with 25 points put up, all five of Stevens’ starters finished with double-digit scores, and the Ducks recorded a season high of 10 steals— four of them from Loscalzo.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams will be seen again hosting Misericordia University on February 7, with the women’s team at 1 p.m. and the men’s team at 3 p.m.
