They're baaaaaaack......

For the first time since 2016, a varsity basketball game was played on New York University's home turf in Greenwich Village. Competing in the John A. Paulson Center to open the 2023-24 season, the Violets men's basketball team posted a 77-60 victory over Manhattanville College on Wednesday, November 8.

Following the closing of the Coles Sports Center, also located at 181 Mercer Street in Manhattan, the NYU basketball teams had played at several venues throughout the metropolitan area. 

"This is awesome. This place is magnificent," said Head Coach Dave Klatsky. "We talked about that leading up to today. This building has been in the works for six or seven years, and getting the chance to play and have people come watch us in our house was really special."

Back on their own home court, the Violets made sure that their inaugural foray would be a success one. 

Spencer Freedman scored the first points in the new building, hitting a three-pointer at 18:59. He also closed the first-half scoring by hitting another three-pointer with just one tick remaining to give NYU a 33-31 halftime lead.

In between, the Violets managed to grab an early five-point lead on Michael Savarino's three, but also had to climb back from a five-point deficit.

After Manhattanville scored the first basket of the second half, the Violets went on a 7-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. 

"First-game jitters," Freedman explained. "New arena. We just needed to settle in and get relaxed." 

The NYU advantage grew to a game-high 20 points, 77-57, on Flynt Whitworth's first collegiate bucket with just 55 seconds remaining.

Freedman finished with a game-high 18 points. Savarino also scored in double-digits (15), as did Zay Freeney (13). 

The Violets finished with a 53-30 advantage on the boards, with Quinn Clark leading the way with 14 rebounds. Konrad Kiszka had eight and Emmanuel Onuama had seven in their NYU debuts.

Savarino also contributed seven rebounds, while Freedman led the way with seven assists.  

One down and many to go.

But, there can only be one first. 

"It was an awesome night," Freedman added. "The arena is beautiful and we have great fan support. The team is amazing, and we just want to keep getting better every day." 

The Violets will be back on the court this weekend when they host the Scholars Classic on Saturday and Sunday at the Paulson Center. NYU will face Johns Hopkins University on Saturday at 5:00pm and Swarthmore College on Sunday at 4:00pm.