Box Score
A balanced scoring attack propelled the New York University men's basketball team to a 78-57 victory over Utica College on Saturday, November 24. The game was a first-round match-up in the Hamilton College Thanksgiving Tournament, which was held at Hamilton's Scott Field House in Clinton, NY.
Unselfish play was a key factor in the win for NYU, with 13 players scoring and the Violets recording 22 assists and only 10 turnovers. NYU also owned a 36-30 rebounding advantage and forced 21 Pioneer turnovers, as the Violets remained unbeaten and improved to 3-0 on the season.
Highlights
-After a back-and-forth first half, NYU held a 35-31 lead. The Violets opened the second half on a 10-2 run and saw their lead extend to 12 points at the 16:16 mark. The Pioneers responded with a 10-0 run of their own, pulling to with two, 45-43 with 14 minutes left. From there, NYU would pull away, outscoring Utica 33-14 the rest of the way.
-Carl Yaffe led the Violets with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. He also had a game-high nine rebounds to go along with three assists.
-Devin Karch also reached double figures, recording 11of his 13 points in the first half.
-NYU also enjoyed strong guard play, as Kyle Stockmal (nine points) and Ryan Tana (eight points) combined for eight assists with only one turnover.
-The Violet bench also provided a spark, with sophomore forward Adam Xu contributing career highs of seven points, five rebounds and six assists while going 2-3 from three-point range. Freshman center Evan Kupferberg also had the best performance of his young career, scoring eight points while shooting a perfect 3-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the free throw line.
-All 16 players saw action for NYU. Conor Smith, Kevin Kabore and Tony Bai all made their first collegiate appearances.
“Our players did a tremendous job playing our style of basketball,” said Head Coach Joe Nesci. “We shared the basketball, executed and controlled the tempo. Utica is a talented team who wants to play fast, and we didn't let them get comfortable.
“In the second half our defense and defensive rebounding were very solid,” Nesci added. “Once we opened up a lead, we did a good job at forcing them into some turnovers”
NYU returns to the court at Hamilton on Sunday, November 25, to compete in the championship game of the Hamilton Thanksgiving Tournament against Hamilton College. Tip off is at 3:00 pm.
