Waleed Farid's 20 points lifted the Ducks to their fourth straight win.

MADISON, N.J. (December 7, 2005) – Sophomore Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) led all scorers with 20 points and added a team-high seven rebounds as the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team improved to 4-1 with a 70-65 victory over Drew University at Baldwin Gym in Madison, N.J.  The win marks the Ducks’ fourth straight victory after opening the season with a loss to City College of New York.  Drew, on the other hand, falls to 3-4 following its third loss in a row.

Stevens started the game slowly as the Ducks fell behind 10-4 nearly five minutes into the contest.  Stevens responded with a 13-0 run in the span of 3:53 to take a seven-point lead.  Junior Michael Collins (Bronx, N.Y.) started the spurt with a dunk.  Freshman Damien Palantino (Philadelphia, Pa.) capped the burst with a layup to give the Ducks a 17-10 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half.

Drew worked its way back into the game and eventually tied score at 22-22 as sophomore Chris Lopez (Staten Island, N.Y.) made a layup.  Stevens responded once again with a 9-0 run in the span of 2:40 to open a 31-22 lead.  Senior Isaac Moore (Phoenix, Ariz.) began the run with a basket for Stevens.  Junior Tim Williams (Selden, N.Y.) converted back-to-back baskets before Farid drained a three-pointer for a nine-point cushion.  Stevens went into halftime with a 33-29 lead.

In the second half, Drew continued to chip away at the lead and tied the score on three separate occasions.  Then, with the Ducks leading 51-49 with less than eight minutes to play in the game, Stevens used an 11-2 run to pull away.  Farid, who was 8-for-13 from the floor in the contest, scored seven of the Ducks’ 11 points in the decisive run.

Freshman Virgil Gray (Elmwood Park, N.J.), Williams, and Moore finished with eight points apiece for Stevens, which shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half.  The Ducks were 29-for-55 (52.7 percent) from the field in the game.

The Rangers were led by freshman Gerard Mullin (Staten Island, N.Y.), who scored 15 points.  Junior Bob Carella (Cedar Grove, N.J.) and Lopez added 10 points apiece.

Stevens will be back in action on Saturday when the Ducks travel to Brooklyn College.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.