PURCHASE, N.Y. – New York University forward Evan Kupferberg scored a game-high 27 points and corralled a game-high 12 rebounds to lead the Violets to an 89-63 victory over Manhattanville College in the consolation game of the 2014 AJ Buchanan Classic on Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Gymnasium.
Kupferberg, NYU's All-Tournament team representative, shot 12 of 18 from the field in his 29 minutes of action to take control of the game. Fellow forward Costis Gontikas added 16 points and seven rebounds while Patrick Burns added a double-double of 12 points and 10 caroms as well for NYU (2-2).
Manhattanville (1-4) was paced by junior
Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons), who set a new career high with 24 points thanks to perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the line and a team-best seven rebounds. Classmate
Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) added 11 points, three assists and a game-high four steals for the Valiants.
The Valiants again had trouble on the glass against a much larger Violet squad, as NYU posted a 43-21 edge in rebounds on the day, including a 13-1 edge on the offensive boards. Those rebounding numbers also contributed to NYU's large edge in points in the paint (54-30) and second-chance points (21-3).
NYU controlled the glass and the tempo of the opening half, shooting 51.3 percent (20 of 39) from the field and out-rebounding the Valiants by a 24-12 margin. As a result, the Violets posted an 18-0 edge in second-chance points that mirrored the team's 18-point halftime lead.
After a three from freshman
Chris Ayson (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) made it an 8-7 NYU lead early in the first half, 10 straight NYU points – capped by a three from Iyoha Agho – gave the visitors a double-digit lead for the first time at 18-7 with 5:47 gone by in the contest.
The Valiants got the deficit back down to seven points in the following few minutes, but a 15-2 Violet run opened up a 20-point lead (35-15) with 7:27 remaining and the visitors played with a comfortable advantage for the remainder of the half.
Manhattanville showed some heart in the second half, making several runs to keep the visitors honest throughout the contest. Down 54-32 early in the stanza, the Valiants rattled off 12 straight points to get within 10 (54-44) with 12:31 remaining. Nardone had six of the team's 12 points during the run, hitting four free throws and a layup.
However, nine straight points for NYU quickly brought the lead back up to 19 points with 9:04 on the clock and Manhattanville was unable to cut deeply into the lead the rest of the way. NYU lengthened its lead in the final minutes thanks to some over-eager shots from its reserves, making the final score a little deceptive in how the final half was contested.
NYU finished the night shooting 55.4 percent (36 of 65) from the field, compared to 41.2 percent (21 of 51) for Manhattanville. One bright spot for the Valiants is the team's continued improvement at the charity stripe, as the Valiants went to the line 23 times and made 18, including hitting 16 of their final 18 attempts from the line after starting 2 of 5.
Manhattanville will take to the court once more before Thanksgiving Break, coming on Tuesday when the Valiants host SUNY Brockport in a non-conference matchup at Kennedy Gym beginning at 4 p.m.
In the championship game, Brooklyn College's Lorenzo Williams went for a game-high 29 points and Tournament MVP Jamel Gist added 24 of his own as the Bulldogs held off Sage in overtime, 94-90, to take home the title.
Williams, who was named to the All-Tournament team, scored 29 with 11 rebounds in 41 minutes of action. Gist had another big game for Brooklyn (3-1) as well, going a perfect 12 of 12 from the line in addition to 6 of 12 from the field. Egzon Gjonbalaj also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with six assists for the Bulldogs.
Sage (2-1) had another well balanced scoring day, with five Gators reaching double figures. All-Tournament team honoree Melvin Ford led the team with 16 points and 15 rebounds , while fellow All-Tournament selection Jorrdan McCray had 14 points.
The Gators finished the day with 22 more shot attempts than the Bulldogs but only got three more of those attempts to fall, shooting just 39.1 percent (34 of 87). Brooklyn, meanwhile, hit 47.7 percent (31 of 65) from the field and also made 23 free throws to Sage's 15.
Sage led the game almost the entire first half and used a 7-0 run to end the opening half with a 48-39 lead. But Brooklyn got back into the game by out-scoring Sage 11-2 out of the locker rooms, and from there the teams were fully engaged in a battle.
The Bulldogs led by as many as seven after a Lorenzo Williams free throw made it 74-67 with 7:23 left, but Brooklyn managed just one field goal the rest of regulation. That one was a big one, however, a three from Williams that gave the team a four-point lead with 1:43 left. But McCray answered with a three of his own and, after Williams made one of two free throws with 33 ticks left, Ford connected on a layup to tie the score with under 10 seconds remaining. Williams had a look at a game-winning three on the next possession, but the shot did not fall.
Brooklyn never trailed in overtime, even though Sage came back from an early hole to tie the score at 84 with 2:31 remaining. A 7-0 run followed that for the Bulldogs, giving the team an insurmountable 91-84 lead with 40 seconds left that Sage could not pare down completely.
