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Men's Basketball's Upset Bid Denied by #2 Brandeis in UAA Opener

01/12/08

Despite getting a game- and career-high 22 points from freshman forward Richie Polan, the New York University men's basketball team dropped a 66-56 setback against Brandeis University, the #2 team in the D3hoops.com poll, in both teams' University Athletic Association (UAA) opener Saturday evening at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

Brandeis (11-1, 1-0 UAA) used a 12-4 closing run and shot 60.0% (24-for-40) to stave off the Violets (8-3, 0-1 UAA) and snap NYU's seven-game winning streak. Senior guard Joe Coppens scored a team-high 17 points to go with six rebounds and four assists, while junior guard Kevin Olson tallied five of his nine points to spark the Judges' late surge.

The Judges tied for their best start to a season ever, equaling the 11-1 mark posted by their 1956-57 edition.

Strong three-point shooting kept NYU's upset hopes alive for awhile, as the Violets shot 47.6% (10-for-21) from long distance. Ten of their 17 field goals (17-for-44, 38.6%) came from downtown, with Polan burying three during an opening 19-10 surge through the first 8:47.

In fact, NYU held a 25-20 bulge 7:18 before the halftime break, before the Judges embarked upon a 9-0 burst to take a 29-25 lead 2:03 before intermission. Brandeis took a 34-28 lead into the locker room and never trailed again, although the Violets' proficiency from beyond the arc kept things interesting until Olson's three-ball with 4:49 helped the nation's #2 team pull away.

"I thought we played extremely hard and extremely focused," said NYU head coach Joe Nesci. "Although our inexperience hurt us at key points of the game, we did the things we needed to do to be right there with five minutes to go. The effort we asked for we got."

Polan grabbed a team-high six rebounds for NYU, which got nine points from senior guard Charlie Parker and eight points apiece from sophomore forward Keith Jensen and junior center John Mish. Parker and Jensen combined for five trifectas, while Mish tied his career-high for points in a personal-best 23 minutes.

Sophomore guard Andre Roberson tallied eight points for the Judges, who owned a 26-23 edge on the boards and outscored NYU 28-12 in the paint. Sophomore forward Terrell Hollins and senior guard Kwame Graves-Fulgham each netted seven points in the victory.

NYU returns to action Monday, Jan. 14, when it travels across the Big Apple to face intra-city rival Hunter College at 7 p.m.