Box Score
D.J. Glavan scored a season-high 20 points, including a critical three-point play that snapped a 79-79 tie with 56.6 seconds remaining, as #2-seeded New York University overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit to score an 84-80 victory over #7 York College (NY) in the first round of the 2009 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metropolitan Tournament on Wednesday night in New York.
With the victory, the Violets (16-10) will host #3 Rutgers University-Newark, a 91-89 winner in overtime over #6 Stevens Institute of Technology, in the ECAC Metro semifinals Saturday at 3 p.m.
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(6-for-9 FG) finished with 14 points and seven rebounds,
Keith Jensen scored nine of his 14 tallies in the second half,
Richie Polan chipped in 11 points and four assists, and
Derek Becker came off the bench with 10 points and five assists.
Nick Hamilton-Lopez led five double-figures scorers for York (14-14) with 22 points, including six three-pointers.
NYU trailed 55-45 with 15:06 remaining after a basket by Marcel Esonwune (14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks), but responded with 11 straight points to start a 16-3 surge that gave the home team a 61-58 advantage after Glavan canned a three-ball with 10:19 remaining.
"We thought we were going to have opportunities to score," said NYU head coach
Joe Nesci, whose team produced its second-highest scoring output this season. "We just had to get some stops."
However, this would not be the last momentum swing of the night. The Cardinals spun off eight straight points to seize a 68-63 cushion with 7:30 remaining. NYU eventually forged a 74-all tie on a Mish lay-up, but another trey from Hamilton-Lopez' hot hand made it 77-74, York, with 3:37 remaining.
A lay-up by Glavan preceded a twisting reverse lay-up by Mish as he was fouled, setting the stage for the senior captain to convert an old-fashioned three-point play that put the Violets up 79-77 with 1:39 remaining.
After Esonwune converted a pair of free throws with 1:24 remaining, Glavan took center stage. He found a lane to the basket, drawing contact, going glass to hit the lay-up, then calmly sinking the ensuing free-throw attempt that made it 82-79.
A free throw from Mish with 2.6 seconds left helped the Violets ice the victory and push them into the ECAC semifinals for the third-straight season.
Overall, NYU amassed 23 assists on 31 field goals, shooting 52.5% (31-for-59) overall and 50.0% (11-for-22) from beyond the three-point arc. The Violets hit 65.4% (17-for-26) of their second-half shot attempts.
Elijah Evelyn (13 points, 9 rebounds), Omari Phipps (12 points) and Rodney Bennett (10 points, 5 boards) also scored in double figures for York, which shot 45.7% (32-for-70) and 40.0% (8-for-20) from three-point range. The Cardinals also owned a 41-35 rebounding advantage, including 16 offensive boards.
