The New York University men's basketball team scored its most points since 2011, defeating Moravian College 104-76 in the first round of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, November 21, at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
It was the Violets' highest point total since producing a 107-93 win over St. Joseph's (LI) College on March 2, 2011.
Evan Kupferberg, who was honored prior to the game for reaching the 1,000-point plateau at the end of last season, led all scorers with 26 points. He shot 13-15 from the field and added six rebounds and thre assists.
"Evan was pretty darn good," said Head Coach
Joe Nesci.
NYU (2-0) fell behind 6-2 to start the game, but took the lead for good on a 6-0 run midway through the first half. The Violets took their biggest lead of the half, 39-29, on
Costis Gontikas' layup with 4:48 left. The Greyhounds pulled to within three points on two occasions before
Max Ralby's three-pointer gave NYU a 49-43 lead at halftime.
Moravian (0-2) scored the first two points of the second half, but NYU countered with a 12-0 run. Then, after the Greyhounds scored another bucket, the Violets went on a 13-0 streak to put the game away.
NYU went on to lead by as many 32 points before settling for the 28-point victory.
Gontikas finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Ross Udine scored a career-high 17 points and recorded a game-high seven assists. Max
Ralby contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal."Our big guys down low open up things everywhere on the court for the rest of us," said Udine. "Those guys just give us a lot more open space. Whoever it is, whether its me, Max or anyone, we can take advantage of it."
Brandon McGuire led Moravian with 21 points.
HIGHLIGHTS:- NYU shot 65.1% (41-63) from the field in the game, 72.4% (21-29) in the second half.
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Jay Murphy, in only his second collegiate game, had five points, three assists and three steals in 21 minutes.
Doug Gertner, also playing in his second game, contributed eight points, four assists, an assist, and a steal in 17 minutes.
"Doug and Jay really stepped up. They're freshmen playing a ton in a game in which the other team is dictating the pace, tempo and style," Nesci explained.
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Brad Lahens had career highs of seven points and five rebounds.
"Ross, especially going against pressure throughout the game, held up very well, made a lot of good decisions and was a facilitator to a lot of key baskets that created additional opportunities for his teammates," said Nesci.
The Violets will play in the Championship Game of the Tip-Off Tournament tomorrow at 7:00 pm at Coles.
