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HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Host Stevens rallied from 13 points down in the second half Friday and hit the game-winning basket with :11 left to edge Nazareth in a key Empire 8 men's basketball game, 73-72.

Nazareth dropped to 12-9 overall and 5-7 in the Empire 8 as the Golden Flyers missed out on a chance to gain ground in the conference standings as St. John Fisher (8-6 E8) and RIT (8-5 E8) both lost. Nazareth still stands in sixth place in the conference standings, two games behind fourth-place RIT and one game behind fifth-place Fisher. Nazareth visits Hartwick (9-3 E8, 14-7 overall) Saturday at 4 p.m.

Sheldon Jones scored a game-high 25 points for Stevens, including the game-winning basket on an 18-foot jumper from the right elbow with :11 left. Nazareth had a shot to win it, but sophomore Tyshun Stephens missed a 15-footer from the right side as time ran out.

Nazareth shot a blistering 55.6 percent from the field (20 for 36) in the first half, including 10 for 13 (76.9 percent) from three-point range in racking up 50 points and a 10-point halftime advantage. Freshman Brad Ford scored 13 of his career-high 23 points in the first 20 minutes as he went 5 for 5 from the field and 3 for 3 from three-point range. Junior Greg Lothridge added 12 of his 14 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Another three-pointer by Ford early in the second half extended Nazareth's lead to a game-high 13 points, 53-40, with 18:35 to play.

Then, as Nazareth's shooting cooled, Stevens gradually worked its way back into the game. Nazareth was still up 11, 60-49, after a three-pointer by Jason Corletta with 9:18 left. Stevens then scored the next 11 points over a four-minute stretch to tie the game.

Another three-pointer by Ford enabled Nazareth to regain the lead, 67-64, with 3:06 left. Stevens later tied the score again on a three-pointer by Mike Cutri with 1:53 to go. The teams exchanged baskets into the final minute before Nazareth took a 72-71 when Stephens made one of two free throws with :26 left.

After a Stevens timeout, Smith dribbled around a screen and hit the game-winning shot for the Ducks, who improved to 9-3 in conference play and 16-5 overall.

The loss was Nazareth's third in its last four games -- by a total of four points. The Golden Flyers lost at RIT, 82-81, in similar fashion on Feb. 1 as the Tigers' Anthony Terry hit a game-winning shot with :04 left. With four regular-season games left, Nazareth likely needs to win the rest to have a shot at making the conference playoffs.

The Golden Flyers shot just 31 percent (9 for 29) in the second half to finish 44.6 percent (29 for 65) for the game. In addition to Ford, who finished 9 for 11 with seven rebounds, Corletta scored 16 points and Lothridge had 14 with six blocks.

Steven, which hosts RIT Saturday, had four double figure scorers in Jones (25), Curti (14), Bryan Franklin (13) and Russ Thompson (11). Simon Smith had a game-high 17 rebounds.