From NYU Athletics
The New York University men's basketball team defeated Case Western Reserve University 100-82 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest on Sunday afternoon, January 31, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
Evan Kupferberg led the way with a game-high 25 points, while Patrick Burns contributed a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Violets (14-3, 4-3) outscored the Spartans (9-9, 2-5) 62-31 in points in the paint.
NYU, ranked #22 in the nation by D3hoops.com, not only dominated inside, but from the field overall, shooting 59.7% (37-62) and 75% (6-8) from three-point range.
"Our mindset coming in was to break their press, be aggressive, go to the basket, and finish strong," Burns said. "We were just really clicking at points on offense and were able to get it inside when we needed to finish those layups. You know it's going to be a good day when our big guys are posting up inside and those shots are falling."
It was a faced-paced first half in which there were seven lead changes and each team led by as many as seven points. NYU was red-hot from the field, making 61.3% (19-31) of its shots in taking a 46-40 lead at halftime.
The onslaught continued in the second half, as the Violets took a game-high 25-point lead, 93-68, on Burns' layup with 4:59 remaining before settling for the 18-point victory.
"We had very few turnovers in the second half," said Assistant Coach Adam Parmenter. "When you do that against a team like this that likes to press, you stand a pretty good chance to come away with the win."
Costis Gontikas added 17 points, eight rebounds and a game-high four blocks for NYU, while Ross Udine totaled 14 points and a game-high 10 assists.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Doug Gertner contributed career highs of nine points and six rebounds while playing a career-high 22 minutes.
- Jay Murphy tied a career-high with five points, while adding five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- The Violets scored 100 points in a game for the second time this season. They totaled a high of 104 against Moravian College on November 21.
- Matt Clark led CWRU with 19 points.
"We held them way below their average from beyond the three-point line (the Spartans shot 31.4%), so that's a testament to our fantastic defense on the perimeter today," Parmenter added. "Our guards did a great job of identifying when the transition opportunity was there out of the press and when they needed to just pull it back and organize in our half-court offense. Our offensive efficiency was fantastic today."