Floyd Morris made the most of Senior Night as he scored a season-high 13 points for the Ducks. |
HOBOKEN. N.J. (February 15, 2007) – Senior guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J.) and senior forward Michael Collins (Bronx, N.Y.) both played one of their finer all-around games of the season during Senior Night on Thursday as the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team recorded a 92-86 victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy at the Canavan Arena. Having won 11 straight and 17 of their last 18 games, the Ducks are now one win away from securing their first-ever Skyline Conference regular-season title.
Morris posted 13 points and five assists while turning the ball over just one time in 31 minutes as Stevens (20-4, 13-2 Skyline) reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in program history. Collins finished with a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) and recorded a game-high six blocked shots. He connected on seven of 12 field-goal attempts in the game. Junior guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) also had a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds to go along with six assists.
Meanwhile, freshman guard George Greco (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) made the most of his first career start as he shot 5-for-9 from the floor and made four three-pointers. Greco finished with a career-high 16 points. Freshman guard Matt Higgins (Freehold, N.J.) provided a huge spark off the bench as he tallied 12 points and seven rebounds.
Merchant Marine (14-10, 9-6 Skyline) was led by sophomore guard Matt Oaks (Newton, N.C.), who connected on seven of nine three-pointers for 23 points. Sophomore guard Pat Grace (Ellicott City, Md.) made five three-pointers in the game. He had 24 points and six rebounds for the Mariners. Senior forward Brian Kelly (Belle Harbour, N.Y.) finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Ryan Samuel (Cedar Hill, Texas) chipped in with 13 points and seven assists.
Leading 23-22 with just over nine minutes to go in the first half, Stevens went on a 20-4 run over the course of a seven-minute stretch. Morris scored eight points in the run, and Farid added five as the Ducks opened a 43-26 advantage with 2:04 remaining before intermission.
USMMA would not go away though as the Mariners took a 51-50 lead on a three-pointer by Samuel with 14:51 left in the game. Trailing 54-53 with just over 13 minutes to go, Stevens used a 12-2 burst in less than three minutes to grab a nine-point cushion (65-56) with 10:35 left on the clock. Higgins capped the run with back-to-back jumpers. The Ducks eventually pushed their lead to 78-62 on a lay-up by Farid with 7:33 remaining in the contest.
For the game, Stevens shot 49.2 percent (32-for-65) from the field. Merchant Marine connected on 41.9 percent (31-for-74) of its field-goal attempts. The Mariners stayed in the game though by making 17 three-pointers as a team. The Ducks owned an edge at the foul line though as they made 20 of 27 free throws as opposed to just seven of 11 for USMMA.
Stevens will close out the regular season on Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. game against Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. With a win over the Blue Knights, the Ducks will lock up the No. 1 seed for the Skyline Conference tournament, which is slated to begin on Tuesday.
