From NYU Athletics
The New York University men's basketball team returned from the
holiday break to defeat Becker College 84-61 at the Jerome S. Coles
Sports Center in Manhattan on Tuesday night, December
30.
"We looked really good on a number of fronts tonight," said NYU
Assistant Coach Nelson Albino. "I thought our
conditioning was there, which we took care of early when we came
back from break, and I thought the guys ability to listen and
execute the game plan was terrific."
The Violets (5-2) earned the victory behind a balanced scoring
attack which saw five players score in double figures. Leading that
charge for NYU were post players Evan
Kupferberg and Costis Gontikas.
Kupferberg notched his fifth double-double of the season and the
14th of his career by grabbing a game-best 15 rebounds and scoring
16 points. Gontikas finished with a team-high 17 points along with
nine rebounds and a block.
"We need this kind of performance from Evan every game and he's
doing better with his consistency," continued Albino. "His focus
was especially better today than it has been and it showed so we
were really proud of him."
After going back and forth for much of the first half, the Violets
took a 40-34 lead over Becker (6-3) into the locker room at the
break.
NYU came out in the second half with total control and outscored
the Hawks 44-27 to stretch out their lead for the eventual 23-point
victory.
The Violets controlled Becker on the boards and in the paint. NYU
outrebounded the Hawks 51-22 and outscored them 42-18 in points in
the paint and 21-4 in second-chance points. In addition, NYU's
bench players made a huge impact, outscoring Becker's reserves
36-8.
"Our rebounding was a focus, as it is every game, but today
especially," said Albino. "One of our goals was to win the
second-chance points' and rebounding columns and they took that to
heart and did a good job on the glass."
HIGHLIGHTS:
- The three other Violets to score in double figures
were Ross Udine (12), Iyoha
Agho (11) and Alec Papesch (10).
Udine also finished with a game-best seven assists, Agho was 3-of-6
from three-point range and Papesch was one rebound short of a
double-double with nine.
- Joe Timmes chipped in eight points on 3-of-6
shooting and three rebounds.
- Hakeem Harris and Coby
Lefkowitz made their debuts for the Violets. Harris, a
transfer from Division I Seton Hall University, chipped in five
points and two assists in 11 minutes.
- Max Ralby and Patrick
Burns returned to the court and started for NYU after
missing some time with injuries. Ralby contributed four assists,
three points, one steal, and a rebound in 27 minutes, while Burns
pulled down five rebounds in 21 minutes.