BOXSCORE | CUMULATIVE STATS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Stevens junior guard Anthony Passalacqua sank five of six free throws in the closing seconds of the second overtime period Saturday to enable the visiting Ducks to escape Nazareth with a wild 100-97 men's basketball victory at the Kidera Gymnasium.

Passalacqua finished seven for nine from the free throw line overall and finished with 25 points as Stevens Institute of Technology, ranked 13th nationally by d3hoops.com, improved to 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the Empire 8. Nazareth suffered its first defeat in conference play and fell to 8-2 overall, 3-1 in the Empire 8.

Nazareth probably should have won the game in regulation after leading by as many as 12 points, 56-44, with as little as 7:40 left. The Ducks, however, persevered. Nazareth was still up five, 69-64, after a basket by Corey McAdam with :28 left in the second half. Passalacqua then was fouled in the act of shooting a three-pointer and made the first two free throws with :16 left. He missed the third shot, but senior Waleed Farid tipped in the rebound to draw the Ducks to within 69-68.

McAdam was fouled again with :12 left, but missed the first free throw before hitting the second. Stevens tied the score with :02 left, 70-70, for the first time since the 15-minute mark of the second half on a driving layup by George Greco to force overtime.

Stevens led for much of the first overtime, but Nazareth went ahead by two points, 82-80, on a three-point play by Joe Canori, who finished with a game-high 34 points. Stevens, though, forced a second overtime on two free throws by Farid with :06 left.

Stevens never trailed after that and led by eight, 95-87, on two more free throws by Greco with :33 left. Nazareth closed back to within one, 98-97, after McAdam completed a three-point play with :06 left, but Passalacqua iced the win with two more free throws with :05 left.

Nazareth played without junior forward Ryan McAdam, who suffered a broken hand in Friday's win over Alfred and is out indefinitely. He was replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Rayvon Higdon, who was plagued by fouls and ultimately fouled out near the end of regulation after scoring six points.

Canori's 34 points included five three-pointers. Corey McAdam added 19 points and 14 assists. Nazareth also got a big boost off the bench from freshman J.T. Miranda, who produced career-bests in both points (14) and rebounds (15). Junior Jeff DeHimer also reached double digits with 10 points.

All five of the Ducks' starters scored in double figures. In addition to Passalacqua, junior Virgil Gray had 25 points and 11 rebounds. Farid finished with 20 points, Greco 14 and Tim Williams had 11. Stevens lost its first game of the season Friday at RIT, 91-85.

Nazareth and Stevens meet again Feb. 1 in Hoboken, N.J. In the meantime, Nazareth competes next week in the annual JPMorgan Chase Tournament. First-round games are Wednesday at Geneseo and St. John Fisher. Seedings will be revealed Sunday evening.