Box Score

Sophomore Richie Polan finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, including seven during a decisive 18-2 late-second-half surge, as the New York University men's basketball team pulled away from Kean University for a 65-49 victory in the Kean THE ROCK Cougar Classic on Sunday night at Harwood Arena in Union, NJ.

Senior John Mish finished with 11 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds to earn Classic MVP honors for the Violets (2-0), while Polan joined Mish on the All-Tournament Team.

"It's cool, it's the first MVP award I've won at NYU," Mish said.  "I didn't score a lot of points, but I think they recognized my hard work."

Junior Omar Meziab added 10 points for NYU, which improved to 32-0 in games in which it has allowed 50 points or fewer since 2000-01.

In the early going, the iron and the Cougar defense proved unkind to the Violets, who found themselves trailing 13-3 and 18-9 before beginning their surge. 

Eventually, NYU used solid defense and opportunistic offense to mount a 19-5 run to end the first half, including 11 straight points in one sequence, to take a 28-23 lead into the locker room.  Mish led the way with seven tallies and seven rebounds.

"I thought our guys did a great job of being composed against their pressure," NYU head coach Joe Nesci said.  "On the defensive end, in the second half we really rebounded the ball and they weren't hitting their shots."

After intermission, the Violets led by as many as 13, seizing a 41-28 advantage with 12:36 remaining after three consecutive Polan lay-ups.  However, the Cougars responded with a 10-0 run, including five points from Tony Boccia, to close within 41-38 with 8:45 remaining.

However, Meziab and Polan hit back-to-back three-pointers, then Mish converted an old-fashioned three-point play to begin an 18-2 run as the Violets pulled away and led 61-40 with 2:49 remaining.

"The first three created more separation again," Nesci said of Meziab's trifecta.  "The guys relaxed offensively."

NYU returns to action Saturday, Nov. 22, when it faces Baruch College in the first round of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.  Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.