Michael Collins scored 12 points as Stevens suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday. |
MADISON, N.J. (November 21, 2006) – Senior forward Pierre Schmitt (Park Ridge, N.J.) scored a game-high 26 points and added seven rebounds as Fairleigh Dickinson University opened the 2006-07 season with a 77-65 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology in men’s basketball action on Tuesday evening at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, N.J. Junior guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) collected 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals as the Ducks dropped to 2-1 on the year.
Stevens jumped out to an early 18-10 lead at the 13:51 mark of the first half as the Ducks knocked down their first four three-pointers of the game. Farid made two shots from downtown in the spurt. The Devils (1-0) responded with an 11-1 run in the span of 6:59 to take a 21-19 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the period. Sophomore forward Andrew Biancosino (Edison, N.J.) and Schmitt had four points apiece in the burst.
After the Ducks tied the score at 21-all on a lay-up by Farid, FDU rattled off 10 of the next 13 points to take a 31-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. Schmitt keyed the run once again as he scored six of the 10 points for the Devils.
Trailing by eight points (44-36) with less than 15 minutes to go in the game, Stevens went on 14-3 run to take a 50-47 lead with 10:57 left on the clock. Sophomore guard Virgil Gray II (Elmwood Park, N.J.) got the Ducks going as he scored four straight points. Freshman guard George Greco (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) capped the spurt with a three-pointer to give the Ducks the lead.
Down by one with a little under seven minutes remaining in the contest, FDU took control with a 9-0 run to turn a 54-53 deficit into a 62-54 advantage. Schmitt started things off with a three-pointer, and senior guard Frank Emslie (Hazlet, N.J.) added two free throws at the tail-end of the run as the Devils pulled away.
Gray finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Ducks. Senior forward Michael Collins (Bronx, N.Y.) added 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field.
Senior center Brian Rimol (Randolph, N.J.) collected 12 points and seven rebounds for the Devils. Emslie added 11 points and nine rebounds.
FDU controlled the boards and owned a 52-37 rebounding advantage in the game. The Devils also limited the Ducks to just 30.9 percent shooting (21-for-68) from the field. FDU made 23 of 53 field-goal attempts (43.4 percent). The Devils also made 27 of 42 free throws as opposed to just 17 of 23 by the Ducks.
Stevens will be back in action on Wednesday, November 29 when it hosts the City College of New York at 7 p.m. That game can be seen live at www.duckcast.com.
