NYU Men's Basketball Tops MCLA
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Visiting New York University got 23 points and 10 rebounds from Dom Cristiano as the Violets pulled away in the second half to defeat the MCLA Trailblazers, 97-71, Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.
In the opening half, NYU (2-1) never trailed. It started by scoring the game's first six points and Cristiano tallied 10 of its first 12 points to open up a six point lead. MCLA (1-3) crept back into the game and eventually tie it on two occasions. After NYU regained the lead at 21-17, it went on an 11-2 spurt to take its largest first half lead at 32-19 with 7:39 left til halftime. Ross Udine had the first four points in the spurt while Cristiano capped the spurt with a jumper.
The Violets still led by 13 at 41-28 with just two minutes to go til the half when MCLA stormed back. The Trailblazers would use a 10-2 run to close the half as Mike Demartinis and Noah Yearsley each scored five points in the spurt to close within 43-38. MCLA shot just 32 percent from the floor while the Violets ended at 52 percent.
The second half was a different story however as NYU outscored the Trailblazers, 54-33, to pull away. Ethan Feldman had 14 of his game high 25 points after half-time.
Feldman was 9-15 including a solid 6-9 showing from beyond the arc for his 25 points. He added five boards and three assists in the win. Cristiano was 11-for-14 from the floor for his 23-point day. Point guard Ross Udine was outstanding dishing out 10 assists on the afternoon. Jimmy Martinelli added 14 points and 10 rebounds for NYU.
The Violets outrebounded MCLA, 49-29, and ended the game shooting 56 percent from the floor.
MCLA was led by Yearsley, who poured 24 points on 6-for-14 shooting. He was a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. Antoine Montgomery scored 10 points in the second half and was the only other Trailblazer in double figures.
The Trailblazers are back in action on Tuesday night when the host Russell Sage.
