New York University's ninth-ranked men's basketball team never trailed in a 78-69 win at the California Institute of Technology on Wednesday night in Pasadena, CA.

It was the second consecutive win for the Violets, who are now 4-1 on the season after their first of two games this week in southern California.

"I'm thankful on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving we escaped Caltech with a win," said Head Coach Dave Klatsky. "They played extremely well and made some tough shots but we held our ground, stayed together and made big plays down the stretch." 

Michael Savarino recorded his second straight game with 20-plus points, finishing with a team-high 21 on 9-of-12 shooting with three rebounds and three steals.

Quinn Clark added 17 on perfect 6-of-6 field-goal shooting while pulling down a team-high seven boards. Hampton Sanders (17 points) and Cinque Stephens (10 points) both finished in double figures off the bench.

"Savarino and Clark stepped up big time for us," Klatsky added. "But that's the type of team we are, it can be a different guy any night depending on the game's flow." 

The contest began with neither side able to take a sizable advantage as NYU led by two, 21-19, after the Beavers' Ryan Hu hit a three-pointer with 9:55 left in the first. However, the Violets scored 10 unanswered points across the next three-and-a-half minutes, capped off by a Savarino finish, to take a 31-19 edge.

NYU forced 12 Caltech turnovers in the first half while committing just two, scoring 17 points off turnovers across the opening 20 minutes to build a 39-27 lead entering the break.

A Savarino triple six minutes into the second gave the Violets a 15-point cushion, 49-34, but the hosts came back within nine (49-40) on Noah Hicks' jumper with 12:36 left.

Hicks stayed hot, hitting a pair of treys to later bring Caltech within three, 57-54, at the 8:10 mark. But, NYU never let the Beavers closer than that as a Stephens tip-in put the Violets up by 10 (72-62) with three minutes left and they didn't look back from there.

Spencer Freedman dished out a game-high seven assists and Zay Freeney chipped in eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

NYU shot 51.7 percent from the field (31-of-60) in the victory while forcing 20 Caltech turnovers. 

The Violets play their second of two on the west coast this Saturday, November 25, at the University of Redlands in Redlands, CA. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00pm Pacific time, 5:00pm Eastern.