NYU 81 Rochester 64

The New York University men's basketball team picked up a road victory on Sunday afternoon, February 23, topping the University of Rochester 81-64 in Rochester, NY.

The Violets (16-8, 6-7 University Athletic Association) found themselves trailing the Yellowjackets (9-15, 3-10 UAA) 34-32 at the half after Rochester went 14-16 from the foul line. NYU, led once again by captain Ryan Tana, came back in the second to outscore the Yellowjackets 49-30 and runaway with the win.

The senior guard finished with a game-high 24 points, as well as four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Moreover, Tana was a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range and is now in a position to finish his career as NYU's all-time leader in three-point percentage.

"He just came up huge for us," said Head Coach Joe Nesci. "He hit clutch shots, played great defense and just did a great job all the way around. I'm very proud of him."

As a team, the Violets outworked the Yellowjackets in almost every aspect of the game. NYU shot 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. The squad also outrebounded Rochester 35-29, outscored the Yellowjackets 28-18 in points in the paint, 21-10 in points off turnovers, 11-5 in second-chance points, and 8-4 in fast-break points.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Tana finished as the game's leading scorer for the second straight contest. He poured in a career-best 31 points on Friday night at Emory University.

- Sophomore forward Evan Kupferberg finished behind Tana as the game's second-leading scorer. He registered 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and one assist. In the second hafl, Kupferberg was 5-of-6 from the foul line and scored 11 of his 16 points.

- Sophomore center Costis Gontikas finished with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one block.

- Sophomore forward Patrick Burns finished with seven points, three rebounds and a block in 26 minutes.

- Junior guard Iyoha Agho had six points on two three-pointers and added an assist.

- Sophomore point guard Max Ralby chipped in five points, three assists and a steal in 23 minutes despite battling foul trouble all game long.

"It was a tough win," said Nesci. "You look at the opponent and what they're capable of and this is a team who played WashU really tough two times, and the same thing against Chicago. So we're really excited about the win and we're looking forward to getting after Brandeis on Sunday."

The Violets will be back in action for their final regular season game of the year at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, on Sunday, March 2, at 2:00 pm.