Waleed Farid Becomes Stevens' All-Time Scoring and Steals Leader
February 13, 2008
HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 13, 2008) – Senior guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) could not have scripted things any better on Senior Night. In fact, the evening was twice as nice as he became the all-time leading-scorer and broke the career record for steals at Stevens Institute of Technology in leading the 20th-ranked men’s basketball team to a 69-55 win over Hunter College on Wednesday at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Farid had a remarkable all-around game as he posted 24 points, 12 rebounds, nine steals, and five assists to lead the Ducks (20-3) to their fifth win in a row.
Not to be outdone, senior forward Tim Williams (Selden, N.Y.) became just the 13th player in the 92-year history of the program to score 1,000 career points. Williams accomplished the feat when he converted a three-point play with 2:07 remaining in the first half. He entered the game with 993 career points and now sits at an even 1,000.
The night belonged to Farid though. With 17:54 to go in the second half, he picked up his fifth steal of the game to raise his career total to 219. In the process, he surpassed Josean Valasquez’s mark of 218 steals, which was set from 1995-99. With his nine thefts against the Hawks, Farid now has 223 steals.
As for the scoring record, Farid tied Dan Bronstein’s mark of 1,465 points (accomplished from 1982-86) when he scored on a lay-up with 11:44 remaining in the second half. Farid would have to wait a while – over 10 minutes in fact – before he was able to supplant Bronstein atop the all-time scoring mountain. With 1:31 left on the clock, Farid finally pulled off the feat when scored on a drive to the basket. That hoop gave him 24 points in the game and 1,467 for his career.
“It is unbelievably special to break two records like that on your Senior Night,” Head Coach Josh Loeffler (West Grove, Pa.) said. “What is truly amazing is that Waleed took on the role of being a scorer tonight. He has played so many other roles for us this season. In fact, we have asked him to take on much more of a playmaker role and to create opportunities for others this year. He has done that as well if not better than anyone else. It is very special to see someone who is so unselfish and team-oriented receive some much-deserved personal accolades.”
On a side note, with his 12 rebounds on Wednesday, Farid raised his career total to 656 boards. He now needs 53 rebounds to break Dan Bonifacic’s all-time record of 708 caroms at Stevens.
During the win over Hunter (12-13), Stevens started slowly. In fact, the Ducks trailed 21-20 with just over four minutes to go in the first half. Stevens closed the period on an 18-4 run to head into the locker room up 38-25. Sophomore guard George Greco (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) started the rally with a three-pointer from the left wing. Junior guard Anthony Passalacqua (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Williams combined for nine points in the spurt. Sophomore guard/forward Ian Masone (Silver Spring, Md.) added a three-pointer. Farid, who was 11-for-20 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range on the night, banked a shot off glass and in right before the halftime buzzer to give him 13 points at the break.
Stevens opened the second half on a 9-2 burst in less than three minutes to build a 47-27 lead following a lay-up by junior guard Virgil Gray (Elmwood Park, N.J.). The Ducks led by as many as 23 points on a three-pointer by Gray with 10:34 to go. The closest Hunter was able to get after that was to within 10 points at 65-55 with 2:29 remaining.
Gray finished the game with 10 points and five rebounds. Williams added seven points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard/forward Matt Higgins (Freehold, N.J.) totaled nine points and five rebounds in the win.
Stevens shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the floor on the night. Hunter made 18-of-58 field goals (31 percent) overall. The Ducks owned a 42-31 edge on the glass.