In its first game of the New Year, the New York University men's basketball team continued its trend of winning close contests, defeating Alvernia University 62-60 on Wednesday, January 2, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
 
The victory extended the Violets' (9-1) winning streak to five games, with those five wins coming by an average margin of 4.6 points per game. Kyle Stockmal led the way with 16 points, including a momentum-changing four-point play, to snap the Crusaders' (7-3) four-game winning streak. Devin Karch added 14 points on 6-7 shooting.
 
Highlights
 
- NYU trailed 38-33 early in the second half before scoring 10 unanswered points to regain control. Carl Yaffe started the spurt with a jumper, and Stockmal then converted the four-point play to give the Violets a lead they would never relinquish.
 
- Evan Kupferberg's layup capped the run and put NYU up 43-38. Alvernia cut the deficit to one a total of five times over the next few minutes, but the Violets responded each time to stay up.
 
- Stockmal then led a 10-2 NYU spurt, hitting a three and sinking 5 of 6 free-throw attempts, to make it a nine-point game with 2:09 to play.
 
- The Violets would not score again the rest of the way, going 0-4 from the stripe and 0-2 from the field. However, the defense did enough to seal the win, including a big steal from Ryan Tana on the game's final play. The Crusaders inbounded with 2.2 seconds left and a chance to tie or win, but Tana deflected away the pass headed for Khalil Bennett and time ran out before Alvernia could get off a shot.
 
- Yaffe finished with eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks for NYU. Cory Stockmal had seven points off the bench, while Tana recorded four assists.
 
"Defense was a huge key for us," said Head Coach Joe Nesci. "They're a very potent offense, and we forced them into 19 turnovers and held them to just 42% shooting and 30% from three."
 
The Violets are back in action on Saturday, January 5, for their University Athletic Association (UAA) opener at rival Brandeis University. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 pm in Waltham, MA.