Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team won two high-scoring games over the weekend against Case Western Reserve University and Carnegie Mellon University. NYU dominated the first game, outscoring Case Western Reserve by 21 points in a 94-73 win. Junior guard Hakeem Harris led the Violets, scoring 32 points on an incredibly efficient 72 percent shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds. Juniors Evan Kupferberg and Costis Gontikas had strong games in the front court, combining for 24 points and 24 rebounds.

NYU struggled early in a roller coaster first half against Carnegie Mellon. After falling behind by seven points with 16:17 remaining, the Violets came back on an 8-2 run to make the score 19-16. Carnegie Mellon then retook the lead, but with the score at 21-19, the Violets went on a 24-1 run and never looked back. NYU increased its lead to as much as 21 points late in the second half, finishing the game with a final score of 94-82. Harris again led the team with 28 points, while Kupferberg and Gontikas each grabbed nine boards and scored 26 and 19 points, respectively.

The two victories put NYU atop the conference standings in the University Athletic Association. The Violets will play next on Feb. 20 against Washington University in St. Louis.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s team completed the sweep for basketball this weekend against Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon. The score remained close early against Case Western Reserve until the Violets broke out with 16-3 and 11-0 runs, ending the first half with a 16-point lead. Junior forward Megan Dawe filled the stat sheet, leading the team with 25 points, two blocks and six rebounds, and nabbing two steals. Sophomore guard Kaitlyn Read also grabbed six rebounds and sank all six of her free throw attempts, finishing the game with 12 points. The final score was 69-52.

The lead bounced back and forth in the second game against Carnegie Mellon. With 15:25 remaining in the first half and Carnegie Mellon up 12-2, NYU went on a 16-0 run to gain the lead. Carnegie Mellon then retook the lead, starting the first three and a half minutes of the second period up 47-35.  But due in large part to 20 second-half points from Read, the Violets ended the game with a 76-70 win.  Read finished the game with a team-leading 25 points and four steals, while junior Maya Wasowicz scored 17 points in just 18 minutes off the bench.

The Violets, tied for second place in the UAA, will take the court again on Feb. 20 against Washington University in St. Louis.

Men’s Volleyball

The men’s volleyball team began its first United Volleyball Conference Crossover of the season with success, going 2-0 against host Elmira College and Vassar College. It took four sets for the Violets to defeat each opponent. After losing the first set to Elmira, NYU took the next three sets by scores of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-22. The Violets then defeated Vassar by scores of 29-27, 25-21, 17-25 and 25-17. Junior opposite Colin LaPorte led the way in kills with 13 against Elmira and 12 against Vassar, and combined for 10 blocks and five service aces between both matches. Sophomore setter Patrick Merrick had 38 and 34 assists against Elmira and Vassar, respectively, and senior libero Andrew Quirk combined for a team-high 29 digs in both matches.

The Violets will play again on Feb. 19 against Kean University in Union, New Jersey at 7:30 p.m.

Baseball

The NYU baseball team went 1-2 this weekend at Oglethrope University in Atlanta, Georgia. Their victory was the first for the team as an official varsity sport in 42 years. 2015 is their first year back on the diamond as an NCAA team.

Wrestling

The wrestling team won its fourth UAA Championship in a row on Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. They will look to continue their successful 20-3 season on Feb. 20, as they take on Daniel Webster College in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Email Jonathan Schifman at [email protected].