From NYU Athletics
With 1.5 seconds remaining, Patrick
Burns inbounded the ball the length of the
court. Costis Gontikas tipped the pass forward
at the foul line to a wide open Evan
Kupferberg who laid the ball in the basket as the buzzer
sounded.
That was the final play of the game on Sunday afternoon, February
8, in Atlanta, GA, as the New York University men's basketball team
defeated #14 (D3hoops.com) Emory University 72-70.
"We've worked on plays like that in practice, but you need luck and
execution for it to work in-game," said NYU Senior Assistant
Coach John Pelin. "The guys knew what to do,
Patrick made a great pass, Costis went up and tipped it right to
Evan, who was where he was supposed to be and he caught it and
scored. They did a great job with the execution."
The Violets (14-6, 5-4 University Athletic Association) were led by
Kupferberg, who poured in a game-best 24 points (11-of-16 shooting)
and a game-high-tying eight rebounds.
"Evan did a great job. He was aggressive. He demanded the ball. He
was in really good position," continued Pelin. "When he gets good
post position, he's going to score most of the time. He really set
the tone for us down low and made us hard to guard."
NYU never trailed the Eagles (15-5, 5-4 UAA) at any point during
the contest, leading by as much as 10 points late in the first
half. Despite that, Emory was able to tie the game at 70-70 with
1:34 remaining. Following a series of turnovers, missed shots and
timeouts, the Violets found themselves in a situation to win the
game with 1.5 seconds remaining. That led to the aforementioned
buzzer-beating lay-in from Kupferberg.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Hakeem Harris finished with 18 points, seven
rebounds and three assists. The junior guard was 5-of-10 from
beyond the arc.
- Gontikas chipped in 12 points and six rebounds. The 6-foot-9
center also led all players with four monstrous blocks.
- NYU outrebounded Emory 47-36. The Violets also clamped down on
the Eagles beyond the arc, holding the home team to just 7.1
percent (2-for-28) from long range, including 0-for-14 in the
second half.
"We always talk about having our guys fly around on defense, and
their second and third efforts, and I think we did that today,"
said Pelin. "Any time we contest a three-point shot we feel good
about it, and we did a great job getting a hand up in all their
shots."
"The UAA is really tight and competitive, as it always is," said
Pelin. "We just have to worry about playing Case Western Reserve,
who got us pretty good at their place. We're excited to have them
come in, and we're looking forward to playing the tough teams left
on our schedule."