The New York University men's basketball team defeated Sarah Lawrence College 82-66 in the opening round of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, November 17, at the Sportsplex in Manhattan.

Dom Cristiano opened the scoring 31 seconds into the contest with a tip-in, while Bobby Hawkinson gave the Violets a 4-0 lead on a layup less than a minute later and NYU never fell behind.

"We talked about trying to land the first punch and making a statement early," said NYU Head Coach Dagan Nelson. "I was proud we were able to get off to a good start."

The Violets led 40-30 at halftime behind a 13-point first half from junior captain Jimmy Martinelli, who sank three three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. 

"We got some separation on the scoreboard once Jimmy hit those threes," added Nelson. "We want to be balanced and not rely on the three-point shot, but it was great to see those go down."

Sarah Lawrence cut the lead to eight, 42-34, early in the second half, but NYU answered with 12 straight points to increase its lead to 20 with 14:22 to play.

The Violets were able to increase the lead to a game-high 22 points with just more than 11 minutes to play before ultimately winning the game by a 16-point margin.

"Our staff made it a point at halftime to challenge our players to come out early in the second half and increase the lead," explained Nelson. "We are happy with the way they accepted the challenge."

Martinelli led all scorers with 18 points and Cristiano finished with a double-double (14 points, 16 rebounds). Ted Georgiadis came off the bench to score 13 points and came up just shy of a double-double as he grabbed nine rebounds. 

"Ted gave us a great spark off the bench tonight," concluded Nelson. "He was very energized and grabbed some big rebounds when we needed them."

The Violets get right back into action when they play in the Championship Game of the Tip-Off Tournament. NYU will face Baruch College at 2pm at the Sportsplex.