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The NYU men's basketball team relied on their steady defense to stave off the Elmira College Panthers in a 54-49 win at the Coles Sports Center yesterday. The win followed Saturday's loss to Skidmore College (80-75) in the first round of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament.
The Violets looked shaky over the weekend. In the two games, they converted 33 turnovers, had several long scoring droughts and gave up some timely baskets.
"It is certainly disappointing to not win the tournament, but we learned a lot from these games," freshman forward Carl Yaffe said.
Yaffee had 12 points and eight rebounds on Saturday and 18 points in yesterday's game.
"The effort was there. We had a lot of turnovers, but a win is a win," he said.
In both games, the Violets shot well. The team shot 52.7 percent against Skidmore and 36 percent against the Panthers, out-rebounding their opponents in both games.
In the first half of Sunday's game, the Violets shot 50 percent from inside the three-point arc. Senior Keith Jensen led the way with 12 points in the half. He averaged 14.5 for the tournament and garnered All-Tournament Team honors. The Violets were also scoring at will, highlighted by an alley-oop play from junior guard Derek Becker to senior guard Chip Borsi. NYU led by 19 points at halftime.
But the Violets seemed to slack during the second half. They went scoreless for the first 9:46, repeatedly missing open looks from the baseline. And they almost blew a 19-point lead in the first half when the Panthers cut the lead to 36-33 after a few big three-pointers from Elmira's forward David Nelson. Despite the drought, the Violets relied on their swarming man-to-man defense, contesting every shot and helping out on every screen.
"When you shoot 23 percent for the half, you have to defend to win, and, fortunately, we did that," Violets head coach Joe Nesci said.
In the last 10 minutes of the game the Violets revved up their scoring. They took their time offensively against the Eagles two-three zone defense, and a back-door pass from sophomore center Andy Stein to freshman guard Kyle Stockmal ended the scoring drought.
A few big three-pointers from Yaffe, including one with six minutes left to play, stretched the game to 48-34. The Violets ultimately won 54-49.
On Saturday, the Violets' strong shooting kept them close against Skidmore, until foul trouble forced them to move to zone and Skidmore's Sakhile Sithole went off down low.
"We just have to do a better job of moving out feet," Stein said. "We were playing a little too close. It is just a mental thing, and we'll just keep working."
Nesci also said the Violets have to take better care of the ball.
He said: "We just have to execute better and not turn the ball over too many times."
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