The New York University men's basketball team continued its flawless defense of the Coles Sports Center on Saturday night, January 4, defeating Kenyon College 60-44 in an NYU Holiday Classic contest.
The Violets (9-1) are now 8-0 at home, though the matchup with the Lords (6-5) was their toughest yet. Heading into halftime, NYU led Kenyon 23-19 with just one player in the game in double figures scoring. The Violets would take control in the second half, outscoring the Lords 37-25.
NYU had a handle on the rebounding differential as well, finishing with the 45-35 advantage. Both teams also did an even amount of work offensively under the basket, with NYU holding a slim 28-22 advantange in points in the paint.
"We're winning with really good defense and rebounding," said Head Coach Joe Nesci. "I thought our execution was better today, but we just struggled to make shots. Defensively, I thought we were consistently good throughout and that was the key to the victory."
Overall, the Violets advantage came when they were capitalizing on Kenyon miscues, as well as cleaning up on the offensive glass. NYU outscored the Lords 15-2 in points of turnovers and 12-5 on second chance points.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- The Violets were led once again by sophomore big man Evan Kupferberg. The forward scored a game-high-tying 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists. Tonight's performance, as well as his career-high 31 points in the win over Clarkson University on Friday night, Kupferberg was named to the All-Classic team.
- Joining their fellow forward on the All-Classic team were sophomore Costis Gontikas and freshman Alec Papesch. Gontikas scored nine points with five rebounds, which followed up his 21-point, eight-rebound performance on Friday night. Papesch pulled down 11 boards with 10 points for his second-career double-double.
- A pair of sophomores, guard Max Ralby (eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals) and forward Patrick Burns (five points, three rebounds two steals, and a block) also contributed to the win over Kenyon.
- Brian Lebowitz of the Lords scored a game-high-tying 16 points with nine rebounds to earn All-Classic honors.
- John Coleman of Clarkson rounded out the All-Classic squad. He scored 22 against NYU on Friday and 13 on Saturday in the win over the United States Merchant Marine Academy, adding six boards in both.
The Violets will be back in action when they travel uptown to Hunter College on Tuesday night, January 7. Tip-off between NYU and the Hawks is scheduled for 7:00 pm.