The long-awaited return to the court for New York University's Men's Basketball Team was a resounding success, as the Violets cruised past the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 77-59, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility on Friday, November 5.

"It was awesome for our team and our program to be back," commented Head Coach Dagan Nelson. "It was over 600 days since we played our last game. I loved the competitiveness, I loved the connectivity and I love the spirit that this group has. They're a lot of fun to coach."

Front and center for the Violets (1-0) was senior Bobby Hawkinson (Frankfort, IL/Marist), who registered a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double in the victory on near-perfect 9-for-10 shooting from the floor.
 
NYU never trailed in this one, but the Dolphins (0-1) were in it early as a Dan Porcic finish brought them within three (11-8) just over five minutes in. Seven unanswered Violet points swayed the momentum, however, highlighted by Kawika Akina's (Kahuku, HI/Pleasant Grove (Pleasant Grove, UT)) first five collegiate points including a smooth triple on the break.

CMSV then cut the score to 20-12, but the Violets responded with a 12-4 run—capped off by a second-chance bucket from Alex Maticiuc (Monaco, Monte-Carlo/St. Thomas More School (Montville, CT))—to pull away as they entered halftime with a 38-21 edge.

An 11-3 spurt to open the second half sealed the result for NYU, as they held CMSV to 36.2 percent shooting on the night while nine Violets scored in the wire-to-wire victory.

Hawkinson was the only Violet in double-figures, but classmate Nick Macarchuk (Alamo, CA/St. Thomas Moore Prep) nearly missed a double-double as he finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

"Bobby and Nick were tremendous," added Nelson. "Bobby was absolutely a beast inside and Nick does what he does; he's a bit of a stat-sheet stuffer, does a little bit of everything and impacts the game in a lot of different ways."

Rookie Zay Freeney (Phoenix, AZ/South Mountain) also impressed, finishing with nine points (4-of-9 FG), three boards, two assists and a pair of steals. NYU's bench filled it up as well with 33 points, led by Akina, fellow rookie Holt Bashinsky (Birmingham, AL/Mountain Brook) and senior Riley Demps (New Orleans, LA/Isidore Newman) contributing seven points each.

"We've got some really good younger players in our program," Nelson said. "We're excited for them to keep working, understanding and learning our system... The sky's the limit for this group, just got to take it one day at a time and have a great practice tomorrow."

The Violets' next outing is their first road test of the season, traveling to Farmingdale State College on Wednesday, November 10, for a 7:00 pm tip.