In a physical, up-and-down battle, the New York University men's basketball team gutted out a 78-70 victory over Brooklyn College on Monday, December 5, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
 
A total of 49 fouls were called in the contest, which saw the Bulldogs (5-2) dictate a fast pace. After struggling with Brooklyn's press in the early stages of both halves, the Violets (4-0) settled down and were able to earn the win despite being taken out of their comfort zone.
 
"They definitely took us out of the way we play," said NYU head coach Joe Nesci. "They cause turnovers and create a pace different from what we want to do. Once we got our bearings we did a pretty good job, and our zone defense was really good for us."
 
The Violets struggled with the Bulldogs' press in the early going as Brooklyn built a 9-0 lead. The lead was back at nine, 23-14, before NYU took over in the final 10 minutes of the half, outscoring the Bulldogs 27-9 to take a 41-32 lead into halftime.
 
However, Brooklyn's defense was again stifling early in the second half, and the Bulldogs rallied to tie the score at 45-all six minutes in. Brooklyn then regained the lead with 7:16 to play, going up 58-57 on John Amil's three-pointer.
 
From there, though, the Violets took over, scoring seven straight points, including a pair of Andy Stein layups and a Ryan Tana triple. The Bulldogs got as close as three before Stein converted a three-point play and Carl Yaffe put back a miss to put the lead back at eight with just 2:48 left.
 
Though NYU struggled at the free-throw line down the stretch, the squad's let Brooklyn get no closer than seven the rest of the way. For the game, the Violets shot just 48.1% (13-27) from the stripe.
 
"Even though we didn't shoot well at the foul line, we gutted out the win," commented Nesci. "Andy did a really good job in the middle of the zone for us, and Devin Karch and Ben Dorman played great off the bench."
 
Stein also played a big role on offense in the late stages. After battling early foul trouble and missing his first three shots of the game, he took over late, connecting on his final six shots – five of which came in the final 10 minutes.
 
In the first half, meanwhile, Karch and Dorman picked up the slack, combining for 17 of NYU's 41 points in the period.
 
Stein finished the game with a team-best 14 points to go along with seven rebounds. Carl Yaffe had another outstanding all-around performance, totaling 13 points, nine boards and four assists.
 
Dorman added 12 points and six rebounds, while Kyle Stockmal recorded 10 points, a career-high eight boards and six assists. Ryan Tana also doled out six assists with just two turnovers.
 
Brooklyn's Tyshawn Russell led all scorers with 22 points. John tallied 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Steven Grant netted 12 points.
 
The Violets are back in action tomorrow night, Dec. 6, as they travel to SUNY Maritime in the Bronx for their first road game of 2011-12. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.