Box Score OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Stevenson men's basketball used a blistering first-half shooting performance to seize control in a 93-52 triumph against Sarah Lawrence inside Owings Mills Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
Stevenson (5-1) canned eight triples in the opening half before taking a 52-28 lead into the halftime break against Sarah Lawrence (1-3). KJ Holton lead all scorers with a career-high 19 points, firing in 13 before halftime, while adding two rebounds and a pair of assists.
Ronald Ayers added 11 of his career-high 17 points in the opening half for the Mustangs. Jalen Jacox posted 11 points, while Bo Wesley and Damon Koskovich nabbed eight rebounds each.
- With things tightly contested over the opening five minutes, Holton stuck a three for an 11-9 Stevenson lead. It was the first of three consecutive long-range buckets for Holton, as Stevenson raced ahead 17-9 with 12:57 left in the frame.
- The barrage of three-pointers was all part of a larger 22-0 outburst for the Mustangs, which included buckets from Khalil Richard, Ayers, Jalen Jacox, Koskovich and Cameron Sapienza, for a commanding 30-9 advantage.
- Off a block from Ethan Jones, Stevenson pushed forward as Ayers lined up a trey at the 7:20 mark. Ayers continued his hot shooting from deep, knocking down a three on the next trip up the floor, following a kickout pass from Wesley.
- Koskovich converted underneath for a 52-26 advantage with just about one minute left in the half.
- With the game well in hand, Stevenson continued applying the pressure on both sides of the floor. Cameron Smith dropped in a jumper just 11 seconds into the second as the Stevenson lead swelled to 54-28.
- Justin Bailey provided Sarah Lawrence with a brief spark following consecutive buckets, but Stevenson quickly seized momentum back on a Holton layup and foul at 16:17.
- Stevenson maintained in control, working in different lineup configurations over the next few minutes. Drew Miller converted a pair of layups, including one off an acrobatic pass from Ethan Jones at 5:53.
- Jacox dropped in three consecutive lay-ins off a pass from Sapienza at 4:11, 3:40 and 3:24 for an 86-49 lead.
- A steal and score for Koskovich pushed the Mustangs to their largest lead of the day at 93-49 with 1:22 left.
- Head coach Gary Stewart collected the 350th victory of his collegiate coaching career on Saturday.
- Stevenson had its way on the glass once again, holding a 49-30 edge in rebounding on the day.
- The Mustangs swiped a season-high 13 steals, while adding seven blocks in continuing their stout defense.
- With five wins in a row, Stevenson matches its win total in an abbreviated 2020-21 season.
- Holton and Ayers anchored the Stevenson three-point barrage in the opening half, combining to go 6-for-8 from deep in the first 20 minutes.
- Sarah Lawrence was playing its first game since November 13 due to health and safety protocols. The Gryphons shot just 25% in the second half.
- Stevenson went 8-of-9 from the foul line over the first 20 minutes, while the Gryphons had just two attempts from the charity stripe in the first half.
- The Mustangs distributed the scoring across the lineup once again with eight players posting five points or more.
- Stevenson: The Mustangs begin conference play on Wednesday, December 1, hosting Hood at 8:00 PM.
- Sarah Lawrence: The Gryphons begin conference play on Wednesday, December 1 against Maritime.
