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Joe Nesci celebrates his 500th win after New York University's victory over Brooklyn on Monday night. |
New York University Head Coach Joe Nesci recorded the 500th win of his career when the Violet men's basketball team defeated Brooklyn College 70-67.
Nesci, who took over as the program's head coach during the 1989-90 season, now sports a career record of 500-240 (.676), including the Violets' 5-2 mark so far this season.
Win No. 500 was hard-earned on Monday, as the Violets charged back from an 11-point deficit in the second half.
Trailing 57-46, with 11 minutes remaining, NYU came all the way back to tie the score at 60-60 on Jimmy Martinelli's layup with 5:03 left.
Brooklyn (3-6) again went ahead, but a short jumper from Ted Georgiadis with 58 seconds left gave NYU a 67-66 lead.
After a Bulldog miss, Ross Udine's layup gave the Violets a 69-66 lead with 18 ticks left.
Michael Tesoriero hit a foul shot for Brooklyn, Martinelli countered with one for the Violets and the Bulldogs' Enees Nikovic missed a three-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Violets their fifth win and Nesci his 500th.
"I'm a part of 500 wins for the program. They're not my wins, they're our wins," Nesci explained. "It's a tribute to our program and our players."
Co-captains Ross Udine and Joe Timmes led the Violets in scoring, totaling 23 and 17, respectively.
"It was great for our young team to experience a win like that," Udine said. "Especially a hard-fought win like this."
Timmes also finished with eight rebounds, an assist and a steal.
"Today we got knocked back a bit, but then bounced back for a win. It was great," Timmes added.
In Nesci's 29 seasons, the Violets have finished with a losing record only once. NYU has made 21 postseason appearances under Nesci's guidance and finished as NCAA Division III National Runner-up in 1994.