It was a classic at the Scholars Classic, and the home team earned its diploma.
The New York University men's basketball team,
ranked #9 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll, edged #12 Johns Hopkins University 71-67 on Saturday, November 11, at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan.
Hosting the Scholars Classic in their new building, the Violets erased a 13-point first-half deficit and held on to record their second win (2-0) of the young season.
NYU was trailing 22-9 midway through the first half, but used a 19-2 run to take a four-point lead before settling for a 33-30 advantage at halftime.
"They jumped on us early. We took the first punch and it didn't phase us," said Head Coach
Dave Klatsky. " They stuck with the game plan and pulled through. Whether we are up 10 or down 10 we're just going to keep doing what we're doing."
The Violets stretched their lead to a game-high 12 points, 50-38, on
Quinn Clark's 3-pointer with 13:18 left in the game.
However, the Blue Jays did not fly away, getting within one point on several occasions.
With NYU holding onto a 66-65 lead in the final minute,
Hampton Sanders calmly hit a pair of free throws. After Johns Hopkins again pulled within a single point,
Spencer Freedman connected on a free throw and
Cinque Stephens made a pair to clinch the hard-earned victory.
"Hampton is special. He does some things that nobody else on our team can do," Klatsky added. "He's a guy that's going to be part of our rotation throughout the year. I'm excited about him. He played great tonight. He's a poised freshman."
In only his second game as a Violet, Sanders scored 15 points, connecting on four of his five three-point attempts.
"My coaches have faith in me. My teammates have my back. It turned out well for us today," Sanders said. "I had first-game jitters last week, but I was just happy to get back in there today and help the team win."
Freedman scored 17 points and dished out seven assists.
Emmanuel Onuama finished with 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds in his second game at NYU.
Clark contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Violets are right back on the court tomorrow when they host #11 Swarthmore College in their second game of the Scholars Classic. Tip-off is set for 4:00pm.
