Box Score

The New York University men's basketball team assisted on 23 of its 27 field goals en route to defeating Carnegie Mellon University 68-52 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Sunday, February 13, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

 

The Violets' (14-8, 3-8) 23 assists were their most in a UAA game since the 2005-06 season, when they doled out 24 in a win over Case Western Reserve University at Coles. D.J. Glavan led the way passing the ball, recording a career-high 10 assists with just one turnover. Half of Glavan's assists went to Carl Yaffe, including on all three of the sophomore's three-pointers, as he led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

 

For the season, NYU ranks second in Division III in assists per game.

 

“We did a great job of staying within our offense,” said head coach Joe Nesci. “We created a lot of backdoor opportunities and were able to get the ball in good places.”

 

Thanks to those opportunities and strong defense, NYU turned a close game into a double-digit contest in the second half. The Violets entered halftime leading the Tartans (6-15, 3-8) by one, 34-33, after both teams shot extremely well in the period. NYU converted on 60.0% of its attempts in the half, while Carnegie Mellon shot 52.0%.

 

In the second half, however, the Violets held the Tartans to just eight field goals and 27.6% shooting. Offensively, NYU used an early 6-0 run to take a seven-point advantage, and with the lead at six, scored 10 straight points, including three-point plays by both Devin Karch and Max Wein, to make it a 16-point game with 10:57 to play.

 

“They shot well in the first half even though we were in the right spots defensively,” commented Nesci. “We contested as well or better in the second half.”

 

The lead never went below double digits from there as the Violets held on for their second straight victory. The win ensured NYU's eighth consecutive winning season and its 27th in the last 28 years.

 

Yaffe added nine rebounds and three blocks to his 19 points. Andy Stein finished with 15 points and six boards, while Wein pulled down a game-best and career-high 11 rebounds.

 

John Duhring led Carnegie Mellon with 18 points and eight rebounds. Shane Rife added 10 points.

 

The Violets return to action on Friday when they travel to St. Louis to take on Washington University. Game time is scheduled for 8:00 pm central time.