NYU (3-0) put five players in double digits, with senior guard Michael DeCorso finishing with 15 points and five boards. Senior center Jason Boone and junior guard Charlie Parker produced 13 points apiece, with Boone grabbing a game-high eight rebounds, while senior guard Matt Basford added 12 points and five boards.
Senior forward Tim Reinhardt scored 12 of his team-best 14 points in the second half for the Bears (1-2). Senior guard Scott Mitchell added 13 while going 4-6 from the floor (4-5 beyond the three-point arc).
The Violets were never fully able to pull away from Potsdam until the last two minutes, despite shooting 58.7 percent from the field (27-46), including 68.4 percent (13-19) in the final 20 minutes. They appeared to have the game in hand when they went on a 12-4 spurt to take a 70-55 lead with 3:32 remaining after Basford converted a lay-up.
The Bears responded by scoring the next nine points, capping their outburst with two free throws by senior forward Jehrod Hall (eight points) with 2:04 left.
However, after both teams traded missed shots, the Violets broke the Bears\' press and Falcon converted a lay-up off a feed from DeCorso to make it 72-64.
Two free throws by Parker with :48 remaining and a conversion from the charity stripe by Falcon with :34 to go helped NYU remain unbeaten. Parker and Falcon each scored 11 second-half points, with Parker hitting three shots from long distance.
NYU led 33-24 at intermission, but used a 9-0 spurt to cap the half. Falcon scored nine points during the opening stanza, while Boone contributed eight.
Sophomore guard Jeff Riker produced 10 points off the bench for Potsdam, which shot 48.1 percent from the floor (26-54), including 47.1 percent beyond the three-point arc (8-17). The Bears outscored NYU 22-12 on points off turnovers.
NYU owned a 33-21 edge on the glass and outscored Potsdam 36-20 on points in the paint.
NYU returns to action Monday, November 27, when it travels to Jamaica, NY, for a 7 pm non-conference contest against York College.
Newspaper Box Score SUNY Potsdam vs New York University 11/21/06 7:00 pm at New York, NY/Coles Sports Center At New York, NY/Coles Sports Center NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 77, SUNY POTSDAM 67 SUNY POTSDAM (1-2) REINHARDT, Tim 6-15 2-2 14; MITCHELL, Scott 4-6 1-2 13; RIKER, Jeff 4-6 0-0 10; HALL, Jehrod 3-6 2-2 8; DIKE, Alvin 3-6 2-2 8; BROWN, Damon 3-8 0-0 7; SISKAVICH, Brandon 2-5 0-0 5; GEDEON, Nelson 1-1 0-2 2; REMBERT, Jason 0-1 0-0 0; WILLIAMS, Anthony Jr 0-0 0-0 0; TAFT, Devin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 7-10 67. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (3-0) Falcon, Daniel 8-12 4-7 20; DeCorso, Michael 6-11 1-1 15; Boone, Jason 3-6 7-11 13; Parker, Charlie 4-6 2-3 13; Basford, Matt 4-5 2-2 12; Clark, Chael 2-2 0-0 4; Magee, Michael 0-1 0-0 0; Jensen, Keith 0-0 0-0 0; White, Tom 0-1 0-0 0; Kuba, Zach 0-1 0-0 0; Wilson, Matthew 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-46 16-24 77. SUNY Potsdam.................. 24 43 - 67 New York University........... 33 44 - 77 3-point goals--SUNY Potsdam 8-17 (MITCHELL, Scott 4-5; RIKER, Jeff 2-4; SISKAVICH, Brandon 1-4; BROWN, Damon 1-3; HALL, Jehrod 0-1), New York University 7-15 (Parker, Charlie 3-5; DeCorso, Michael 2-5; Basford, Matt 2-3; Magee, Michael 0-1; White, Tom 0-1). Fouled out--SUNY Potsdam-REINHARDT, Tim; SISKAVICH, Brandon, New York University-None. Rebounds--SUNY Potsdam 21 (RIKER, Jeff 4; REINHARDT, Tim 4), New York University 33 (Boone, Jason 8). Assists--SUNY Potsdam 18 (HALL, Jehrod 4; REINHARDT, Tim 4), New York University 14 (Wilson, Matthew 3; Magee, Michael 3; Boone, Jason 3). Total fouls--SUNY Potsdam 21, New York University 14. Technical fouls--SUNY Potsdam-None, New York University-None. A-285 Daniel Falcon leads NYU with 20 points as Violets put five players in double figures to improve to 3-0 with 77-67 triumph over SUNY Potsdam.