From NYU Athletics
The New York University men's basketball team earned its
fourth victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, December 6,
defeating the Stevens Institute of Technology 67-47 at the Jerome
S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
The Violets (4-2) took control of the game by working the
Ducks (3-5) hard underneath. Overall, NYU finished with a 48-25
rebounding advantage and outscored Stevens Tech 44-14 in points in
the paint. Lastly, the Violets held a 17-2 second-chance points
advantage.
"Today and most days it's our game plan to get the ball
inside," said NYU Assistant Coach Gunner Winston.
Leading the way for NYU was sophomore forward Alec
Papesch. The 6-foot-6 Cleveland, OH, native
poured in a career- and game-high 19 points on 8-of-12 from the
floor while leading all players with a career-best-tying 13
rebounds. The double-double was his first of the season and second
of his career.
"The frontcourt has been a strength for us the entire
season," said Winston. "Alec in particular tonight was great on the
offensive boards, the defensive boards, with put-backs and strong
layups. Across the board the frontline guys did a great
job."
The Violets led the Ducks 32-25 at the end of the first half,
extended it to 42-25 to open the second and were never seriously
threatened again.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Evan Kupferberg also finished with a
double-double, his third of the season and 12th of his career, with
16 points and 13 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 junior forward also tied
for game-high in steals with a season-best three.
- Costis Gontikas chipped in 12 points on
5-of-7 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and blocked a game-high-tying
two shots.
- Ross Udine finished with a game-best nine
assists. He also chipped in four points.
- Iyoha Agho contributed seven points in
his fourth start of the season.
"The most important thing that we focus on is not just the
wins, but how we played," continued Winston. "Most importantly for
us tonight, our effort was stellar."