WALTHAM, Mass. – Junior forward Steve DeLuca (Merrimack,
N.H.) scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to
rally the Brandeis University men's basketball team from an
eight-point deficit as the Judges defeated No. 24-ranked New York
University, 52-48, in University Athletic Association (UAA) action
today.
Brandeis (11-3, 1-2 UAA) shot just 24 percent (5-21) from the floor
in the first half and trailed by a 24-16 margin at the break. Still
trailing by eight at 30-22 with 16:14 left, the Judges went on a
17-3 run over the next six minutes to take a five-point lead. A
put-back by rookie Terrell Hollins (Springfield, Mass.) at the
13:52 mark gave Brandeis its first lead since 13-12 late in the
first half.
NYU (11-2, 1-2 UAA) didn’t fold despite trailing by seven
with 8:29 left. The Violets responded with eight unanswered points
of their own, reclaiming the lead on an offensive rebound rookie
guard Zach Kuba (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 43-42. DeLuca answered with a
3-pointer from the top of the arc on the next possession, but
lay-ups by seniors Daniel Falcon (River Vale, N.J.) and Michael
DeCorso (Freehold, N.J.) gave NYU a 47-45 lead with 3:11
remaining.
Hollins hit a lay-up off a drive and dish from junior Florian
Rexhepi (Skopje, Macedonia) to tie the contest, and DeLuca's fourth
trifecta of the game with 1:28 left gave the Judges the lead for
good, 50-47. After NYU hit one-of-two free throws on their next
possession, they forced Brandeis to run the shot clock down to two
before DeLuca got off a desperation 3-pointer, but junior Kwame
Graves-Fulgham (Amherst, Mass.) tracked down the offensive rebound
to help ice the contest.
DeLuca scored his season-high 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting from
the floor. He also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Graves-Fulgham and junior Joe Coppens (Rockland, Mass.) tied for
team-high honors with three assists, while Rexhepi had a game-high
three steals. After their first-half shooting woes, the Judges
rebounded to hit 46 percent in the second half (13-28). They also
committed a season-low seven turnovers, none in the second half,
while forcing the Violets into 19 giveaways.
NYU was paced by 14 points from Falcon, but only four came after
the intermission. He hit five-of-10 from the floor and four-of-six
from the line. DeCorso also reached double figures with 10 points,
but he needed four-of-12 shooting to get there. Although Violet
senior forward Jason Boone (Sugar Loaf, N.Y.) led all players with
four assists and had six rebounds to pace his team, he scored a
season-low three points, taking just one shot. NYU outrebounded the
Judges, 35-25 and shot 43 percent for the game (16-37).
Men's hoops upends No. 24 NYU, 52-48
Posted: Jan 13, 2007