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Men's Basketball Uses Balance to Eclipse Emory, 78-71, in UAA Road Tilt

02/01/08

Senior guard Charlie Parker paced five players in double digits with 17 points as New York University
held on for a 76-71 victory over Emory University in University Athletic Association (UAA) men's basketball action Friday night at the Woodruff P.E. Center in Atlanta.

Junior center John Mish added 16 points and eight rebounds as the Violets (11-6, 2-4 UAA) won on Emory's (10-7, 3-3 UAA) home floor just seven days after the Eagles downed then-#1 and current-#3 University of Rochester 81-76 in overtime.

Also reaching double digits for NYU were sophomore forwards Zachary Kuba (14 points, 5 rebounds) and Keith Jensen (14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists), as well as sophomore guard Omar Meziab (11 points).

"You love to see it, but you can't script it out. If you get five guys in double figures, you're in good shape," said NYU head coach Joe Nesci.

While utilizing a methodical offensive approach that helped them shoot 53.7% (22-for-41) from the floor, the Violets were just as steady defensively in holding the UAA's top scoring outfit at 81.3 points per game to 38.3% shooting (23-for-60), including 38.2% (13-for-34) from three-point range.

Emory scored seven of the first 10 points after intermission in taking a 37-33 advantage before NYU broke the contest open with a 26-7 burst. Kuba contributed eight points, while Meziab added seven and Mish added six as the Violets took a 59-44 lead with 7:38 remaining.

"I just thought the guys really worked super hard on matching Emory's intensity level," Nesci said. "We played with a lot of energy for the whole game. The key for us was our transition defense, getting back and not giving them easy baskets."

The Eagles eventually found their rhythm and pulled within 71-67 after two free throws by Dan Smith (11 points) with 52.3 seconds remaining. However, NYU went 7-for-8 at the line in the final 51.4 seconds, featuring Mish going 4-for-4 at the charity stripe.

Overall, NYU, the UAA's top team at the charity stripe, went 26-for-35 (74.3%) from the line. The Violets went 25-for-31 (80.6%) at the stripe in the second half.

"We've been shooting pretty well at the line all season," Nesci noted. "In the two road games we won, we had to make foul shots at the end and we made them."

The second half proved disparate from the first half, as the teams entered the locker room in a 30-30 deadlock after the first 20 minutes featured 14 lead changes.

Dan Curtin led Emory with 18 points on six three-pointers, while Anthony Fernandez contributed 12 points and nine boards. Brian Giometti added 11 tallies for the Eagles.

NYU concludes its first go-round through the UAA on Sunday, Feb. 3, with a noon contest at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.