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Maroons Rally Past NYU 68-63

Maroons Rally Past NYU 68-63
Posted: Feb 14, 2014

From NYU Athletics

The University of Chicago men's basketball team erased a 13-point deficit in the second half and outlasted New York University 68-63 on Friday.

The Maroons improved to 13-8 overall and 6-4 in the UAA. The Violets fell to 15-6, 5-5 in conference.

After UChicago jumped out to a 7-2 lead, NYU scored 12-straight points. The Violets dumped the ball inside regularly to forward Evan Kupferberg and he responded by scoring eight of the team's first 14 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Smith hit a three-pointer and senior guard Derrick Davis added a jumper to pull UChicago within three points at 19-16. A layup and two free throws by senior guard Wayne Simon moved the visitors even closer at 23-22.

Over the final five minutes of the half, NYU went on an 11-2 run to go up 34-24 at halftime. The Maroons were limited to 38.5 percent shooting from the field and the Violets made 50 percent of their shots, led by Kupferberg's 14 points. Davis paced the visitors with six points at the break.

NYU remained in control in the opening minutes of the second half as well. The Violets splashed a trey and made one of two free throws to take their biggest lead of the night at 43-30. That's when UChicago began its long rally to get back in the game. Sophomore Alex Voss scored back-to-back layups, which were bracketed by a pair of threes from Davis to get within six points at 47-41.

The home team went back up by nine points shortly after. The Maroons then heated on offense, going on a 14-5 run with eight points coming from Smith. The sophomore canned a three and a layup to tie the score at 57-57 with just over three minutes left in the game. One minute later, Voss swished a trey to put UChicago ahead 60-59.

Each possession proved crucial down the stretch, and UChicago created its own break when Davis got a steal and sophomore forward Nate Brooks scored on a tip-in at 62-59. Voss made another clutch three at 65-61 and senior forward Sam Gage provided the clinching free throws that ended the game at 68-63.

NYU finished with a 37-34 edge in rebounds. Turnovers were basically even 14 for UChicago and 13 for the Violets. Four Maroons finished with double figures in points, led by Davis with 17. The senior has scored in double digits five times over his past seven games.