Falcon earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after finishing with 17 points and 15 boards, while Boone played an all-around stellar game with 12 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Boone and senior guard Michael DeCorso (20 points, four assists) both earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
NYU jumped out to a 10-0 lead with Falcon\'s help, as the power forward scored four points and assisted on two others during the Violets\' game-opening spurt.
The Violets used superior inside play to subdue the Lions (1-1): Boone and Falcon combined for 31 of their team\'s 45 rebounds and helped NYU outpoint Emerson 44-20 in the paint.
\"We needed Michael to do a real good job defensively, and he did,\" NYU head coach Joe Nesci said. \"And Danny and Jason totaled 31 rebounds, which was more than their entire team (26).\"
Emerson did pull with two points on a few occcasions after the Falcon-led Violet opening run, and trailed just 27-23 at the break. Senior guard Will Dawkins, an All-Tournament Team selection, led the Lions with a team-high 16 points, while also contributing six reb ounds, three assists and three steals.
However, NYU started the second half on a 12-5 run and claimed a 39-28 lead as DeCorso and Falcon each scored five points during the outburst.
Additionally important was the Violets\' stellar defensive play. Despite committing 30 turnovers themselves, they forced Emerson into 29.6 percent (16-54) shooting from the field, including 25.0 percent (5-20) beyond the three-point arc.
Alfredo Tovar added 10 points off the bench in the loss for Emerson.
NYU returns to action Tuesday, November 21, when it hosts SUNY Potsdam for a non-conference game at 6 pm.
2006 NYU TIP-OFF ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tournament MVP: Daniel Falcon, NYU
Jason Boone, NYU
Will Dawkins, Emerson
Michael DeCorso, NYU
Ryan Miller, Moravian
Dillon Stein, Alfred