Men's Basketball Survives and Advances Into ECAC Semifinals

03/05/08

The New York University men’s basketball team overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and advanced to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Tournament semifinals with an 83-79 win over St. Joseph’s College-LI in Patchogue, NY, on Wednesday, March 5.

The Violets, seeded #6 in the eight-team tournament, trailed 60-50 after the Golden Eagles’ Phil Lipari hit two free throws with 11:00 left in the game.

However, NYU freshman D.J. Glavan immediately ignited a 12-0 Violet run with a three-pointer. And, when the run ended with junior Jon Mish’s jumper at 7:01, NYU had its first lead of the contest, 62-60.

The NYU lead grew to a game-high five, 75-70, on another Mish basket with 1:50 remaining.

However, the #3-seeded Golden Eagles (21-7), regained the lead, 76-75, on David Acree’s third consecutive three-pointer with 1:16 left.

After taking a timeout to regroup, sophomore Zach Kuba hit a clutch three-pointer for the Violets (16-10), who never lost the lead again. Sophomore Omar Meziab and freshman Derek Becker each hit a pair of free throws to extend the advantage.

After St. Joseph’s pulled within three in the final seconds, Meziab clinched the victory by hitting one of two free throws with just four ticks remaining.

“Our guys really persevered tonight,” said NYU head coach Joe Nesci. “We shot really well and were able to hold them off.”

NYU, which shot 56,1% (32-57) overall, including 65.5% (19-29) in the second half, fell behind 5-0 to start the game. The Violets caught up at 10-10, but the Golden Eagles scored the next seven points and opened its biggest lead of the first half, 21-12, on a jumper by Chris Niblock with 10:33 remaining.

NYU junior Bill Morrissey followed with a basket, igniting a 9-0 NYU run that concluded with a four-point play by Meziab which forged a 21-21 tie with 7:46 left.

The Violets could not grab the lead, however, and trailed 37-31 at the break.

That deficit eventually grew to 10 before NYU made its charge that ultimately resulted in victory.

“In a game like this, against a high-powered offense, rebounding was huge,” Nesci explained.

The Violets out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 35-24, limiting them to only four offensive boards.

“They came in averaging 84 points per game and we wound up scoring 83,” Nesci revealed. “Obviously we had to hold them under that number if we were going to win.”

Mish, who made all nine of his shots, finished with a team-high 19 points, as well as a game-high 11 rebounds.

Meziab finished with 16 points, including four three-pointers.

Sophomore Keith Jensen (12) and Glavan (10) were also double-digit scorers for the Violets.

Lipari led the Golden Eagles with 20 points, while Sean Hyde contributed 15. Acree and Matt Weeks each finished with 13.

The Violets now face #2-seeded York College, a 70-67 winner over #7 New Jersey City University, on Saturday in Jamaica, NY.