NYU 76 Carnegie Mellon 65

The New York University men's basketball team earned its second straight University Athletic Association (UAA) victory on Friday night, January 31, defeating Carnegie Mellon University 76-65 in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Violets (13-4, 3-3 UAA) were led by senior co-captain guard Ryan Tana, who poured in a season-high 23 points -- two shy of tying his career best -- along with a career-high eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

"Ryan's our leader and he provides stability on the court as well as solid play, very good decision making and clutch shooting," said Head Coach Joe Nesci. "He keeps the guys together and is a great leader."

NYU's largest lead of the game came with 34 seconds remaining in the first half when it led the Tartans (9-8, 2-4 UAA) by 16.

The Violets dominated almost every aspect of the contest, especially scoring down low, holding the 36-16 edge in the paint over Carnegie Mellon. In addition, NYU shot 50.9 percent from the floor, including 35.3 from three-point range compared to the Tartans' 31.3 shooting percentage.

Overall, NYU controlled the pace of the game from the midway point of the first half until the closing buzzer. The Violets took the lead with 8:46 left to play in the first half and never trailed from that point.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Sophomore big men Costis Gontikas and Evan Kupferberg were featured in the paint for NYU. Gontikas registered his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 boards. Kupferberg chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.

"We're always looking to work inside and play out of that, and the guys executed well," said Nesci. "They doubled us a lot and we had to kick the ball out, but the guys hit big shots on the perimeter too."

- Junior guard Iyoha Agho finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 from the field, all of which came from beyond the arc.

- Freshman forward Alec Papesch notched nine points and four rebounds.

- Christian Manoli led Carnegie Mellon with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

"I'm really proud of the guys and their effort tonight against a really good, experienced Carnegie team," said Nesci. "It was a great win."

The Violets will be back in action when they travel to Cleveland, OH, for a scheduled 12:00 pm tip-off at Case Western Reserve University on Sunday afternoon, February 2.