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Men's Basketball Scorches Nets in Second Half to Topple Emory, 76-69

02/10/08

Junior forward Keith Jensen poured in a career-high 23 points, including five three-pointers, as New York University shot 80.0% from the field in the second half and pulled away from Emory University, 76-69, in University Athletic Association (UAA) men's basketball Sunday afternoon at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Violets (14-6, 5-4 UAA) hit 16 of their 20 shots from the floor, and went 8-for-10 from three-point range, to earn their fourth straight victory and move above .500 in UAA play for the first time this season. In addition, they swept the season series from Emory (10-10, 3-6 UAA), posting their second win in nine days against their Association rivals.

"There might have been some games where we shot close to what we did in the second half," 20th-year head coach Joe Nesci said, "but never anything like what we did today."

Four different players reached double digits for NYU for the fourth straight game, as the winning team hit a season-best 58.7% (27-for-46) of their shots. Senior guard Charlie Parker contributed 16 points, while junior center John Mish (5-for-6 FG) contributed 15 points, five boards and three assists. For good measure, freshman forward Richie Polan produced 10 points and four boards in 18 minutes off the bench.

On the strength of a 20-4 surge to start the second half, the Violets claimed a 48-34 cushion with 12:54 remaining. Jensen hit three of his triples, Parker buried a pair and sophomore forward Zachary Kuba also nailed a three-ball as 18 of NYU's points during the outburst came from beyond the arc.

Three-point proficiency again proved to be the Violets' calling card as they went 6-for-7 from the perimeter, and 11-for-12 to start the second stanza en route to seizing a 58-43 lead with 9:49 to go after a Jensen lay-up. Five different players drained a triple, as NYU went 12-for-24 from downtown (50.0%).

"We just thought we weren't moving the ball as efficiently against the zone in the first half. We were missing a beat," Nesci said. "The outside shots were presenting themselves. We made those shots, and they had to come out of the zone."

Emory pulled within seven points on a couple of occasions, but it proved too late as the Violets earned their fourth straight victory.

Dan Curtin led the Eagles with 20 points in 24 minutes off the pine, while Anthony Fernandez had 13 points and Brian Giometti tallied 12 in 16 minutes off the bench. Emory shot 47.8% (22-for-46) from the field, and 42.3% from long range (11-for-26), while hitting 86.7% (13-for-15) of their charity-stripe attempts.

The second half proved quite a contrast from the more deliberate first half. At the outset, NYU capitalized upon three quick Emory turnovers to take a 7-2 lead. However, the opening stanza saw both teams go point-counterpoint, for the most part, as there were seven ties and seven lead changes before the Eagles took a 30-28 lead into the locker room at the break. Curtin led Emory with 10 points, while Jensen and Mish each tallied eight in the first 20 minutes.

NYU returns to action Friday, Feb. 15, when it hosts Carnegie Mellon University for a Tear It Up! event at 8 p.m. The Violets defeated the then-#24-ranked Tartans, 62-58, in Pittsburgh on Jan. 20 behind Mish's career-high 25 points.