Virgil Gray II is averaging 19.9 points per game for the Ducks this season.

HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 10, 2007) – Sophomore guard Virgil Gray II (Elmwood Park, N.J.) continued his fine play of late as he topped the 20-point scoring plateau for the fifth game in a row as the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team improved to 9-3 (3-1 Skyline Conference) on the year with an 88-78 victory over St. Joseph’s College on Wednesday evening at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J.  Gray finished with 28 points on 10-for-23 shooting from the floor as the Ducks collected their sixth win in a row.

Stevens also received a solid effort out of junior guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.), who had 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.  Farid made seven of 13 shots in the game and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line.  Senior guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J.) tallied four points and seven rebounds.  He also led all players with six assists.  Senior forward Michael Collins (Bronx, N.Y.) picked up his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds to go along with a game-high five blocked shots.  Collins was 5-for-8 from the floor in the game.

St. Joseph’s (6-4, 2-1 Skyline) was led by sophomore guard David Acree (Brentwood, N.Y.).  In 36 minutes of action, Acree led all scorers with 29 points and added seven rebounds.  Senior guard/forward Jorge Martinez (Brentwood, N.Y.) tallied 16 points and four rebounds.  Junior guard Brandon Freeman (Freeport, N.Y.) had 13 points in the loss.

Leading by five with just over seven minutes to go in the first half, Stevens scored nine straight points in the span of 56 seconds to open a 32-18 cushion.  Farid started things off with a three-point play and then drained a three-pointer on the ensuing Ducks’ possession.  Following a turnover by St. Joseph’s, Gray knocked down a three-pointer of his own to give Stevens a 14-point lead with 6:12 left in the half.  The Ducks went into the locker room at the break holding a 41-30 advantage.

Stevens rattled off a 12-2 run during a four-minute stretch early in the second half.  Gray scored eight points, and Collins chipped in four points as the Ducks jumped out to their biggest lead of the game (57-36) with 14:43 remaining.

After the Golden Eagles closed to within 69-62 with less than six minutes to go following five straight points by Acree, Stevens sealed the game with an 11-0 run in just over a minute.  Gray, who has surpassed 20 points in seven of 12 games this year, was the catalyst once again as he scored five points.  Freshman guard George Greco (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) was 4-for-4 at the line in the spurt as the Ducks opened an 80-62 lead with 4:10 to play.

For the game, Stevens shot 44.6 percent (29 of 65) from the field as opposed to just 37.7 percent (26 of 69) for St. Joseph’s.  The Ducks were 24-for-29 (82.8 percent) at the foul line and owned a 48-38 advantage on the boards.

Stevens will be in action on Saturday when the Ducks travel to Purchase, N.Y. to take on Skyline Conference rival Manhattanville College at 2 p.m.