TROY, N.Y. – John Van Schaick scored 23 points – 13 in the second half – to lead Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to a 79-76 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday night in a non-conference men’s basketball victory.
Rensselaer (5-4) scored the final five points of the game to pull out the win. Stevens (4-5) trailed by as many as 14 points – 54-40 – with 14:58 left before storming back to take the lead. The Ducks received a season-high 27 points off the bench from guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y./Stuyvesant).
Farid connected on one of his seven 3-pointers with 3:03 left to give Stevens a 76-74 lead. Rensselaer reclaimed the lead, 77-76, when Tom Schneider converted a conventional three-point play with 2:19 left. Joe Johnson then converted a layup off a steal with 1:10 remaining to provide the final margin. Rensselaer also forced Stevens into three turnovers in the final 2:07 and limited the Ducks to just one shot.
For the game, Rensselaer shot 52.2 percent (24-for-46) and forced Stevens into 25 turnovers. The Ducks kept the game close by controlling the boards. Stevens out-rebounded Rensselaer 33-28.
The Red Hawks led the entire first half, scoring the first nine points of the game. Rensselaer, which led 40-33 at halftime, extended its lead to 14 points on two occasions. A 3-pointer by Van Schaick with 14:58 left gave the Red Hawks a 54-40 lead.
Stevens stormed back, using a 28-10 run in a span of 6:45 to take its first lead of the game. Farid scored 10 points while sophomore guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J./Peddie School) scored all eight of his points during the Ducks’ run. Farid’s 3-pointer with 8:15 remaining put the Ducks ahead 68-64.
Stevens maintained the lead for the next five minutes before five straight points by Van Schaick put Rensselaer back on top, 74-73 with 3:18 left.
Junior guard Isaac Moore (Phoenix, Ariz./Moon Valley) was the only other Stevens player in double figures as he finished with 11 points off the bench.
Stevens is back in action on Saturday, January 8, when it travels to Newburgh, N.Y., for a 2 p.m. Skyline Conference game against Mount Saint Mary College.
