Waleed Farid and the Ducks nearly overcame a 21-point second-half deficit against NYU. |
NEW YORK, N.Y. (December 4, 2006) – After falling behind by as many as 21 points in the second half, the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team mounted a furious rally, but the Ducks (3-3) came up a little bit short as they suffered a 76-67 loss to New York University on Monday at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in New York, N.Y. Junior guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) led the way for Stevens with 18 points and three rebounds.
Trailing 41-20 with just over 18 minutes remaining in the game, the Ducks began their comeback with a 9-0 run. Sophomore guard Anthony Passalacqua (Staten Island, N.Y.) got things going with a pair of baskets. Farid followed with a jumper, and sophomore guard Virgil Gray II (Elmwood Park, N.J.) capped the burst with a three-pointer to pull Stevens to within 41-29.
With just over 12 minutes remaining, NYU (6-0) held a 14-point cushion (51-37), but the Ducks would rattle off 10 unanswered points to climb to within four at 51-47. Sophomore guard Damien Palantino (Philadelphia, Pa.) had four points in the run. Passalacqua drained a three-pointer to cut the Violets’ lead to four with 8:46 left on the clock.
Stevens eventually trimmed NYU’s lead all the way down to one point at 56-55 when Gray made a lay-up with 5:39 remaining. At that point in time, the Ducks were in the midst of a 35-15 run over a 12-minute stretch after trailing by 21 points earlier in the period. Stevens was able to get to within one on two other occasions in the final six minutes, but the Ducks could never take the lead.
With NYU clinging to a 60-59 lead, junior guard Charlie Parker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) nailed two free throws. Senior guard Matt Basford (Flemington, N.J.) followed with a huge three-pointer to extend the margin to 65-59 with three minutes to play. The Violets executed down the stretch and knocked down their free throws as they scored 16 of the game’s final 24 points to secure the victory.
Passalacqua finished with 17 points, three steals and two rebounds for the Ducks. Gray had 13 points, four steals and three rebounds. Palantino added seven points off the bench.
Basford made five of seven shots from downtown and was 8-for-8 at the line for a season-high 23 points. Senior forward Michael DeCorso (Freehold, N.J.) made all six of his three-point attempts and was seven of nine from the field for 22 points. Senior center Jason Boone (Sugar Loaf, N.Y.) had 11 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
NYU dominated the opening 20 minutes of game and made nine of 13 attempts from downtown to take a 39-20 lead at the break. During the first half, the Violets shot 57.7 percent (15 of 26) from the field. On the other hand, Stevens made just eight of 20 field-goal attempts (25.0 percent) before the break.
The Ducks were able to work their way back into the game by forcing 20 turnovers by NYU. The Violets out-rebounded Stevens 46-32.
On Wednesday, the Ducks will be in action as they take on Maritime College at 7 p.m. in Throggs Neck, N.Y.
