Senior center Jason Boone added 13 points and swatted away six shots for the Violets (5-4), moving two away from breaking the career mark of 151 set by Rich Cowes (1985-89). Freshman guard Zach Kuba tallied a career-high 11 points for NYU.
NYU used deft passing to build a sizable cushion in the first half, both on backdoor cuts and by having its inside players kick out of double teams to open perimeter shooters, as the Violets assisted on 17 of their 19 first-half field goals and 24 of 34 overall. Six different players doled out at least three assists, led by freshman guard Matt Wilson’s four.
The Violets went on a 37-4 run after trailing 11-10 early, scoring the final 20 points of the spurt to take a 47-15 lead on a three-pointer by senior guard Matt Basford. Overall, the Violets canned 10 treys in the first 20 minutes thanks to the torrid shooting of DeCorso (6-7 FG, 3-4 three-point FG) and Kuba (nine points, 3-4 three-point FG), in taking a 56-24 lead into the locker room.
NYU shot 50.0 percent (34-68), including 51.9 percent beyond the three-point arc (14-27), and owned a 50-27 edge on the glass. Nine of the Violets’ first 12 field goals were from long distance.
“We try to focus more on the defensive end,” NYU head coach Joe Nesci noted. “But we have good shooters, we have good offensive players.”
“They were playing a zone and coach used a good zone defense,” DeCorso said. “They weren’t extending out to the three-point line. … Everybody felt good today.”
Junior center Michael Magee finished with nine points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Violets, while senior forward Daniel Falcon scored seven points and snared a game-high eight boards.
Guard Samuel Deadwyler finished with 16 points and five boards for Medgar Evers (2-5), while forward Ronald Holloway added 11 points and six boards. The Cougars shot 33.9 percent (21-62), including 14.3 percent (2-14) from long distance.
NYU returns to action Monday, December 4, when it hosts Stevens Institute of Technology at 7 pm.
Newspaper Box Score Medgar Evers College vs New York University 12/2/06 1:20 pm at New York, NY/Coles Sports Center At New York, NY/Coles Sports Center NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 92, MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE 53 MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE (2-5) Samuel Deadwyler 7-11 2-2 16; Ronald Hollowry 4-12 3-3 11; Kallai Sharpe 4-11 0-0 8; Kelvin Fraser 3-6 0-0 6; Kenneth Griffin 1-4 2-2 5; Haydeen Lambert 1-4 0-0 3; Cordell Alleyne 1-4 0-0 2; Thomas Armstrong 0-10 2-2 2; Clovis Esis 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 21-62 9-10 53. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (5-0) DeCorso, Michael 6-9 2-2 17; Boone, Jason 5-6 3-4 13; Kuba, Zach 4-5 0-0 11; Magee, Michael 3-5 0-0 9; Wilson, Matthew 3-4 2-4 8; Falcon, Daniel 2-6 3-4 7; Basford, Matt 2-9 0-0 6; Parker, Charlie 3-4 0-0 6; Jensen, Keith 2-5 0-0 6; Mish, John 2-6 0-0 4; Butler, Ricky 1-2 0-0 3; Clark, Chael 1-5 0-0 2; Greenberg, Jesse 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-68 10-14 92. Medgar Evers College.......... 24 29 - 53 New York University........... 56 36 - 92 3-point goals--Medgar Evers College 2-14 (Haydeen Lambert 1-3; Kenneth Griffin 1-2; Kallai Sharpe 0-2; Thomas Armstrong 0-5; Ronald Hollowry 0-2), New York University 14-27 (Kuba, Zach 3-4; Magee, Michael 3-3; DeCorso, Michael 3-5; Jensen, Keith 2-4; Basford, Matt 2-7; Butler, Ricky 1-2; Greenberg, Jesse 0-1; Parker, Charlie 0-1). Fouled out--Medgar Evers College-None, New York University-None. Rebounds--Medgar Evers College 27 (Ronald Hollowry 6), New York University 50 (Falcon, Daniel 8). Assists--Medgar Evers College 4 (Kallai Sharpe 1; Samuel Deadwyler 1; Ronald Hollowry 1; Thomas Armstrong 1), New York University 24 (Wilson, Matthew 4). Total fouls--Medgar Evers College 12, New York University 14. Technical fouls--Medgar Evers College-None, New York University-None. A-381