The New York University men's basketball team defeated Arcadia University 90-87 in the Championship Game of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday, November 22, at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
Ross Udine, who was selected Tournament MVP, scored a career-high 33 points and had a game-high seven assists. But, it was Max Ralby's driving layup and foul shot with 50 seconds left that broke an 85-85 tie and put NYU (3-0) into the lead for good.
"Ross really showed some great determination today," said Assistant CoachConor Smith. "He has the chance to be a great player, and we hope to see a lot more of this on the court."
Arcadia (4-1) pulled to within one on Josh Scott's two free throws with 37 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possesion, Udine's shot was blocked, but the Knights' John Landro missed a corner three at the other end. Evan Kupferberg, who scored 23 points, rebounded the ball and hit two free throws with less than a second remaining before the Ryan Kelley's desperation heave at the buzzer was unsuccessful.
"I found my rhythm early in this game, and based on how I played yesterday I just felt like my shots we're going to fall tonight," Udine said.
However, Arcadia kept chipped away and took an 83-80 lead on Kelley's layup with 3:09 remaining in the game before Udine tied it with a three-pointer.
The teams exchanged baskets before Ralby scored his only three points of the game, but arguably the most important ones.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Costis Gontikas finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kupferberg also recorded a double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds. Both players earned All-Tournament honors.
- Patrick Burns pulled down nine rebounds for NYU, while Ralby added eight.
- Josh Scott led Arcadia with 22 points.
- Landro and Phil Pierfy of Arcadia, as well as Brandon McGuire of Moravian College, were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
"We just have to play hard like this always," Smith added. "We're a 'bigs'-dominated team with some of the best forwards in the UAA. When foul trouble came, we just had to be careful and then Ross came up with some pretty big shots."
The Violets return to action next Sunday, November 29, when they host the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm at Coles.