Release courtesy of NYU Athletics
The New York University men's basketball team, playing in front of a full house at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility on Thursday night, remained unbeaten in 2022-23 with a resounding 108-67 victory over Yeshiva University.
The Violets are off to their best start since opening the 2015-16 campaign with an 11-0 record.
"From day one there's just been an energy around the team that you can feel," said Head Coach Dave Klatsky. "They've wanted to be great and they're playing so unselfishly."
Yeshiva only led once in the contest, 7-6, on Dothan Bardichev's layup with 17:35 remaining in the first half.
Then, with the score tied 9-9, the Violets went on a 25-6 run and stayed in control the rest of the way.
NYU led 47-18 at halftime.
"The first half defense was incredible," Klatsky said. "We came in with a game plan on defense and they executed it. Our guys bought into what we were doing and brought incredible energy."
The Violets continued to pour it on in the second half. The lead grew to as many as 49 points when Zay Freeney's layup with 8:53 left in the game gave NYU a 94-45 advantage.
Freeney finished with a game-high 29 points, connecting on 11-of-15 shots from the field, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
"When you have Spencer Freedman as the point guard out there you get pretty open pretty quickly," Freeney said. "I felt really good out there tonight. But, I believe in myself and I've been putting the work in this summer and my entire life. I expect a lot from myself and believe I can compete at the highest level."
Freedman recorded a game-high eight assists, while Cinque Stephens scored a career-best 17 points.
A total of 13 players scored for NYU, with John Beattie contributing a career-high nine.
On the boards, Holt Bashinsky led the way with a career-high seven rebounds.
"If we can play as a team like this we are going to be hard to beat," Klatsky added. "This was an incredible performance. I'm just so proud of them."
The Violets will be back in action on Wednesday, December 7, when they face York College in Jamaica, NY. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.