Owings Mills, Md. (January 29) – The Stevenson men's basketball team delivered a spirited, wire-to-wire battle Thursday night inside Owings Mills Gymnasium, rallying from an early deficit and taking the lead late before a final-possession finish resulted in a narrow 75–74 MAC Commonwealth setback to Albright.
Albright opened the contest with a quick burst, jumping out in front behind early perimeter shooting. Stevenson settled in midway through the opening half, finding its rhythm through interior touches and second-chance opportunities.
Kyle Luddy knocked down a momentum-shifting three-pointer, while
Kole Beaman provided a spark with timely baskets to help the Mustangs chip away. Despite the push, Albright maintained the edge heading into the break, sending Stevenson into halftime trailing 40–27.
The Mustangs flipped the script coming out of the locker room. Stevenson opened the second half with renewed energy on both ends, stringing together stops and converting in transition to quickly close the gap. Luddy and Beaman connected from deep during a decisive run, and
Christian Jackson finished strong at the rim to bring Stevenson within one possession. Moments later, Beaman attacked the lane to tie the game at 43, igniting the home crowd.
The back-and-forth battle intensified down the stretch. Stevenson briefly took the lead after
Myles Jackson converted an and-one opportunity, followed by
Kendall Seguignol finishing inside to give the Mustangs a four-point advantage with just over eight minutes remaining. Albright responded, but Stevenson continued to answer. Beaman came up with a steal and finished on the break, and Luddy calmly stepped to the line to knot the score at 63–63 with 5:41 to play.
In the final minutes, neither team gave an inch. Beaman scored through contact to tie the game again at 65, and
Myles Jackson followed with a free throw to push Stevenson back in front. After another Albright response, Beaman drove hard to the basket for a clutch layup to even the score at 65 with under four minutes remaining. The final possessions featured physical defense and contested looks, with the Mustangs battling to the final horn.
Stevenson will look to build on the strong performance when it returns to MAC Commonwealth action on Saturday, January 31, hosting Alvernia at 3:00 p.m. in support of Colon Cancer Awareness.
