Carl Yaffe and Kyle Stockmal combined for 43 points and the 19th-ranked New York University men's basketball team shot over 60% en route to winning 88-76 at Carnegie Mellon University on Friday, February 3, in Pittsburgh, PA.
The victory not only helped avenge the Violets' (16-2, 6-2) two-point home loss to the Tartans (7-12, 2-6) just seven days earlier, but it also pushed them back to the top of the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings. NYU's win, combined with #25 Washington University's 94-84 loss at the University of Rochester, moved the Violets back into a first-place tie in the UAA with the Bears.
Yaffe poured in 22 points on 8-10 shooting, including a thunderous second-half dunk, and added a game-high eight rebounds. Kyle Stockmal netted 21 points on 5-8 shooting (4-6 from three), continuing his torrid play in UAA road games. He has scored over 20 points in each of the Violets' three UAA games away from home this season while draining 15 of his 18 attempts (83.3%) from beyond the arc in those contests. In the team's last five games, meanwhile, Stockmal has shot 20-25 (80%) from beyond the arc.
As a whole, NYU shot lights out at Carnegie Mellon. The Violets finished the game 27-43 (62.8%), converting on better than 60% of their attempts in each half. Defensively, the squad held the Tartans to just 41.7% (25-60) a week after allowing them to shoot 55.1% (27-49) in defeat.
"I really felt that our defense was key tonight," said NYU head coach Joe Nesci. "Our team defense in the halfcourt, especially on ball-screen sets, was excellent.
"Our offensive execution was also excellent, and we really shot the ball well," he added. "Carl and Kyle got their stuff done within the framework of our offense, and Andy Stein and Ryan Tana both had five assists."
A big run early in the second half helped put a close game squarely in the Violets' favor. The score was tied at 49-49 with 13:40 to play before NYU went off, going on a 12-0 run in just 2:40. The spurt began when Cory Stockmal broke a double team and found Ben Dorman all alone for a layup.
After Carnegie Mellon missed a pair of free throws, Dorman then found Stein for a layup. Cory Stockmal followed that up by making a steal and hitting both of his free throws, and another stop led to a Stein three-point play. Kyle Stockmal capped the run by draining a three-pointer from the top of the arc, putting the Violets up 61-49 with 11:00 left to play.
The Tartans got as close as eight three times in the next few minutes, but a Yaffe three-point play and Kyle Stockmal triple made it a 14-point game with 3:57 remaining. NYU then sank seven free throws the rest of the way to secure the victory.
In the first half, the Violets built a 12-point lead with 1:34 left in the period. But Christian Manoli and John Duhring each sank threes in the final 1:08 to cut the Carnegie Mellon deficit to six, 37-31, entering the break.
The Tartans twice pulled to within one early in the second half, but back-to-back threes by Tana and a Kyle Stockmal layup put NYU back up nine. However, Carnegie Mellon responded with a 9-1 run to tie the game at 49-all. They would never get over the hump, though, as the Violets then ripped off their 12-0 run and controlled the game from there.
Stein (15 points) and Tana (10 points) joined Yaffe and Kyle Stockmal in double figures, with Stein adding five boards, two blocks and two steals. Max Wein totaled nine points, seven of which came in the first eight minutes of the game.
Rashaun Riley led the Tartans with 21 points, all of which came in the second half. John Duhring had 16 points and five rebounds, while Joe Kromka added 10 points, five boards and two steals.
NYU returns to the court on Sunday when it travels to Cleveland, OH, to take on Case Western Reserve University in UAA play. Tip-off is at noon.