Six Score in Double Digits to Highlight 99-78 Win at Wesleyan

Stein Scores 17 in First Half, While Yaffe Falls Just Short of Triple-Double

Carl Yaffe recorded his first collegiate double-double.

Andy Stein surpassed his career high with a 17-point first half, finishing with 19 tallies as New York University's near-flawless first-half offensive execution set the tone for a 99-78 victory over Wesleyan College on Monday night at Silloway Gymnasium in Middletown, CT.

Carl Yaffe fell one rebound shy of a triple-double, settling instead for his first collegiate double-double after finishin with 15 points, a career-best 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Violets (10-2), who went 20-for-26 (76.9%) from the field and went 8-for-11 (72.7%) from three-point range en route to seizing a 54-35 halftime lead in their final regular-season non-conference game.

Overall, the Violets shot 63.5% (33-for-52) and went 14-for-27 (51.9%) from long distance, establishing season highs in shooting percentage and three-pointers made while producing their highest scoring output since a 102-70 victory over the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Jan. 14, 2004. They also owned a 36-18 rebounding advantage.

Six players reached double digits for NYU, with Keith Jensen scoring a season-best and team-high-tying 19 points, including five three-pointers. # Omar Meziab# dropped in 13 points, Chip Borsi tallied a career-high-tying 10 and Richie Polan also added 10 along with eight rebounds to give the Violets their fourth game with five or more double-digit scorers this season.

"We were really hitting on all cylinders," NYU head coach Joe Nesci said. "We just had great recognition of how they were playing us. We hit a couple of threes on skips and after that they were afraid to commit, which opened up the post."

NYU set a decisive early tone, seizing a quick 13-0 lead on its first five possessions. The Violets converted 10 of their first 11 shots, finishing the opening period by making 20 of their 26 shots (76.9%) and going 8-for-11 (72.7%) from beyond the arc in claiming a 54-35 cushion at halftime.

Stein did most of that damage, tallying nine of his first-half points in the first 7:06 of the contest and then scoring eight straight toward the tail end of the stanza. The 6-8 junior hit all seven of his first-half field goal attempts and was 7-for-8 overall. Stein drained a pair of free throws 1:59 before the break to give him 17 points, surpassing his previous career best of 16 set Dec. 9 against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Meanwhile, Jensen produced 11 of his points in the first half and Yaffe contributed five tallies, eight assists and seven rebounds during the opening 20 minutes.

"Our guys just executed and made shots," Nesci said.

David Fogel scored 17 points and Shasha Brown added 15 and seven assists for Wesleyan (5-7), which shot 39.3% (22-for-56) but hit 43.3% (13-for-30) of its three-point attempts.

For the remainder of the regular season, NYU will play only against University Athletic Association (UAA) competition. That stretch begins Friday night with a 7 p.m. (EST) contest at the University of Chicago.