Men's Basketball Overcome by Chicago, 61-44, in Sunday UAA Matinee
01/27/08
A sluggish start ultimately proved costly for the New York University men's basketball team Sunday in its 61-44 loss to University Athletic Association (UAA) rival the University of Chicago at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
Matt Corning scored 15 points for Chicago (11-5, 4-1 UAA), which hit 11 of its first 12 attempts and shot 62.5% (15-for-24) in the first half in seizing a 37-19 halftime lead. The Maroons, which shot 50.0% (23-for-46) overall, also got 11 points and nine rebounds from Adam Machones.
Junior center John Mish tallied a team-high 14 points and snared six rebounds for the Violets (10-6, 1-4 UAA), which shot just 34.0% (17-for-50) and posted a season low in points scored.
In the first half, Chicago hit 10 of its 12 tries (83.3%) and led by as many as 21 (37-16) before the break as Corning (10 first-half points), John Bonelli (9 points before break, 3 three-pointers) and Machones (8 first-half tallies) paced a balanced offense.
Conversely, NYU hit just 29.2% (7-for-24) of its first-half shots, including just two of its 12 attempts from long distance (16.7%). Entering the game, the Violets were ranked 21st in three-point field goal percentage.
Still, the Violets pulled within 10 points twice in the second half, cutting the lead to 47-37 on a Mish lay-up with 8:26 remaining. However, the Maroons answered back with nine straight points to claim a 56-39 cushion with 4:39 remaining after a Tom Watson trifecta.
Chicago owned a 39-27 edge on the glass thanks to the play of Machones, Nate Hainje (7 points, 7 rebounds) and Tim Reynolds (8 points, 6 rebounds).
Sophomore forward Zachary Kuba was the Violets' next leading scorer with six points, while freshman forward Richie Polan snared a team-best seven rebounds to go with his five points.
NYU returns to action Friday, Feb. 2, when it travels to Atlanta to face UAA rival Emory University at 8 p.m.