Led by a career night from sophomore forward Evan Kupferberg -- scored a career-high 31 points along with 14 rebounds -- the New York University men's basketball team grinded out a hard-fought 87-77 victory in overtime over Clarkson University at the NYU Holiday Classicon Friday evening, January 3, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan. The Violets erased an 18-point defecit in order to force overtime and record the win against the Golden Knights.

"Evan was just outstanding," said Head Coach Joe Nesci. "His play inside was great."

After trailing by 18 late in the first half, NYU (8-1) trailed by 16 as it went into the lockerroom at the half. However, teh Violets came out on fire in the second. Clarkson (5-3) scored the first bucket of the half, but the Violets followed with a 15-2 run, trimming the Golden Knight lead to 45-41. Then trailing 51-46, NYU went on a 12-0 streak to take a 58-51 advantage for its first lead since the 13:16 mark of the first half.

Overall, the Violets outscored Clarkson 42-26 in the second half.

In the extra period, NYU outscored the Golden Knights 20-10 en route to the 10-point victory. With the win, the Violets remain a perfect 8-0 at home on the season.

"Defensively in the second half our team was really together," said Nesci. "Five men working against a team that really executes efficiently. I give our guys all the credit. They really buckled down defensively and attacked them inside."

The Violets dominated all game long on the boards, outrebounding Clarkson by an astounding 45-13 margin. In addition, NYU capitalized on its opportunities and outscored the Golden Knights 16-3 in second-chance points.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- In addition to Kupferberg's play down low, sophomore center Costis Gontikas put up 21 points and collected eight rebounds.

- Another forward, sophomore Patrick Burns, also had a stellar all-around game. He pulled down eight rebounds, had four assists, scored six points, recorded two steals, and registered three blocks. All but one assist came down the stretch in the second half and in overtime.

"Patrick gave us some real tough effort plays on the defensive end -- blocked shots, rebounds, loose balls -- and then also put in a few points on top of all of that," Nesci said.

- Senior co-captain guard Ryan Tana chipped in 11 points, with seven coming in the second half and overtime.

- Sophomore point guard Max Ralby netted nine points while dishing out six assists and grabbing five boards.

- Freshman Alec Papesch grabbed five rebounds, as well.

NYU will be back in action tomorrow night, Saturday, January 4, in its second game of the NYU Holiday Classic. Tip-off againstKenyon College is scheduled for 7:00 pm.