Men's Basketball Survives Emory, 57-55

Derek Becker's 10 first-half tallies helped NYU seize a 37-21 halftime lead.

Omar Meziab managed a final-second steal as Emory University maneuvered for the potential game-tying points, helping New York University hold on for a 57-55 victory in University Athletic Association (UAA) men's basketball action Friday night at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta.

En route to recording its first Association victory of the season, NYU (12-3, 1-3 UAA) took a 37-21 halftime lead, but held on as the Eagles (5-10, 0-4 UAA) rallied and threatened to send the game into overtime.

John Mish scored a game- and team-high 17 points, but missed a free throw with 6.1 seconds left to set up the Eagles' last opportunity. However, Meziab poked the ball away from John Kresse about 40 feet from the basket as the Violets survived despite going just 8-for-17 (47.1%) at the charity stripe.

"I think our guys did a nice job of getting defensive stops and really gutted it out," NYU head coach Joe Nesci said.

The first half appeared to have this game ear-marked as an easy Violet victory. With five points from Richie Polan (8 points, 9 rebounds) and four from Mish, the Violets jumped out to a 13-4 lead 4:52 into the contest. Meanwhile, their defense kept the Eagles scoreless for 7:13 to set the tone for a strong defensive first 20 minutes.

D.J. Glavan (9 points) hit a three-pointer 3.1 seconds before the halftime horn, and produced five of his seven first-half tallies during a closing 8-0 spurt that gave NYU a 37-21 lead heading into intermission. Derek Becker (12 points overall) and Mish led all scorers with 10 points apiece during the opening stanza, and contributed to a defensive effort that limited Emory to 25.0% (9-for-36) shooting in the first 20 minutes.

However, Emory outscored NYU 21-9 to start the second half and make it a one-possession game for the final two minutes thanks to Chad Hixon and Anthony Fernandez. Both players scored 16 points apeice, with Hixon tallying 12 of his points after halftime while Fernandez added 10 after intermission.

NYU shot 46.8% (22-for-47), but hit just 47.1% (8-for-17) of its free-throw attempts and was outrebounded, 39-31, as Emory grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.

Emory shot just 32.3% (20-for-62) from the field, the second-lowest total produced by a NYU opponent this season, and went just 2-for-15 (13.3%) from downtown.

NYU will complete its UAA road tripSunday, Jan. 25, when it travels to Cleveland to face Case Western Reserve University for a noon tilt.