The New York University men's basketball team picked up a hard-fought road victory on Monday night, January 11, over Hunter College 81-76 at the Hunter Sportsplex in Manhattan.
"We came out against a team that gave us their best effort, shot the ball well above their normal percentages and gave great energy the entire game," said NYU Assistant Coach
Adam Parmenter. "It's something that we're going to see for the rest of the season from everybody."
Ranked #14 in the most recent
D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, the Violets (11-0, 1-0 University Athletic Association) had all they could handle and more on Monday with the Hawks (1-15, 1-5 CUNYAC). NYU and Hunter traded the lead 11 times and saw the score tied on six occasions. Most of that back-and-forth occurred in the first half.
The Violets trailed by five points at the 8:11 mark in the first half, 23-18, but eventually tied it a couple of times before heading into the break down by two at 37-35.
The Hawks cut into the Violets lead, which at its largest was seven on multiple occasions, and ultimately trailed NYU by one point at 59-58 with 10:31 remaining. The Violets then went on an 8-2 run from 10:12 to 8:01 to lead once again by seven. Hunter was unable to cut NYU's lead to less than four for the remainder of the contest.
Four Violets scored in double-figures, led by
Evan Kupferberg and
Ross Udine as each poured in a team-best 20 points. Kupferberg added 10 rebounds for another double-double, while Udine drained five three-point buckets.
"We did a nice job overcoming the negatives that happened over the game," continued Parmenter. "We came together and held on for the win. We know the things we need to build on."
HIGHLIGHTS: -
Costis Gontikas finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-9 senior center tied the game high with three blocks and added two assists and a steal, as well.
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Patrick Burns led all players with a game-best 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 senior forward also added 15 points, three assists and three steals.
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Jay Murphy finished with a collegiate-best-tying seven rebounds, four points and two steals.
- Brian Kruger led four players in double-figures for Hunter with a game-high 23 points.
The Violets will return to the court on Friday, January 15, and Sunday, January 17, when they host Emory University and the University of Rochester, respectively. NYU begins against the Eagles at 8:00 pm and face the Yellowjackets at 12:00 pm.
