The New York University men's basketball team earned its fourth victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, December 6, defeating the Stevens Institute of Technology 67-47 at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

The Violets (4-2) took control of the game by working the Ducks (3-5) hard underneath. Overall, NYU finished with a 48-25 rebounding advantage and outscored Stevens Tech 44-14 in points in the paint. Lastly, the Violets held a 17-2 second-chance points advantage.

"Today and most days it's our game plan to get the ball inside," said NYU Assistant Coach Gunner Winston.

Leading the way for NYU was sophomore forward Alec Papesch. The 6-foot-6 Cleveland, OH, native poured in a career- and game-high 19 points on 8-of-12 from the floor while leading all players with a career-best-tying 13 rebounds. The double-double was his first of the season and second of his career.

"The frontcourt has been a strength for us the entire season," said Winston. "Alec in particular tonight was great on the offensive boards, the defensive boards, with put-backs and strong layups. Across the board the frontline guys did a great job."

The Violets led the Ducks 32-25 at the end of the first half, extended it to 42-25 to open the second and were never seriously threatened again.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Evan Kupferberg also finished with a double-double, his third of the season and 12th of his career, with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 junior forward also tied for game-high in steals with a season-best three.

- Costis Gontikas chipped in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and blocked a game-high-tying two shots.

- Ross Udine finished with a game-best nine assists. He also chipped in four points.

- Iyoha Agho contributed seven points in his fourth start of the season.

"The most important thing that we focus on is not just the wins, but how we played," continued Winston. "Most importantly for us tonight, our effort was stellar."

The Violets will return to action after winter break when they host Becker College at Coles on Tuesday, December 30. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm and live stats and live video will be available.