In a battle of two unbeaten Empire 8 Conference squads, the men’s basketball team fell to host Stevens Institute of Technology (12—2, 4—0 Empire 8) 82-61 yesterday.

The Bombers owned a 40-35 lead heading into halftime, shooting 48 percent from the floor and holding the Ducks to 44 percent. The Blue and Gold came out flat in the second half however, shooting just 30 percent in comparison to Stevens’ 46 percent, and were outscored 47-21.

South Hill only had one player score in double figures, as sophomore forward and center Frank Mitchell scored 13 points. Junior forward Andrei Oztemel, junior guard Jordan Healey and sophomore guard Christian Jordan each netted eight points.

The most eye-popping stat was in the rebound column. The Ducks doubled the Bombers on the boards 52-26.

The loss was the South Hill squad’s first of 2012 and dropped its road record to 1—6 overall.

The Bombers begin a five-game home stand at 8 p.m. Friday against Elmira College in Ben Light Gymnasium.