Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y. – In a game of runs and rallies, the last word belonged to New York University here Wednesday night. It was enough to eliminate Rutgers University-Camden, 68-65, in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Division III Metro Men's Basketball Championship.
 
The third-seeded Violets scored nine of the final 10 points in the last 41 seconds, including a go-ahead three-pointer by freshman guard Ross Udine (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay) with 16 seconds left, as they spoiled a stellar Scarlet Raptor comeback and stunned sixth-seeded Rutgers-Camden in the first NCAA post-season game in program history. 
 
The Scarlet Raptors close their season with a 14-12 record, their best mark since going 14-11 in 2001-02. The Violets, meanwhile, improve to 18-8 and move into the ECAC semifinals Saturday at top-seeded Brooklyn College, where they will play Rutgers-Newark. The second-seeded Scarlet Raiders defeated #7 York (NY) College, 66-60.
 
The game was the first post-season men's basketball game since Rutgers-Camden joined the NCAA Division III. It was the first post-season game overall since the team, then known as the Pioneers, lost the NAIA District 31 final at Dowling College, 53-48, on March 2, 1976.
 
Down by 10 points (34-24) at halftime, the Scarlet Raptors battled back to a 38-38 tie before NYU answered with 11 straight points to grab a 49-38 advantage. Rutgers-Camden responded with the next 12 points, taking a 50-49 lead with 6:24 remaining on a dunk by senior guard/forward Alex Smart (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek).
 
NYU junior forward Patrick Burns (Lexington, MA/Lexington) scored the next seven points as the Violets regained the advantage, 56-50, but Rutgers-Camden countered behind a huge 33-point night from senior guard Wyatt Polk (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial). Polk stopped the Violets' run with a layup and then hit back-to-back three-pointers as the Raptors surged back in front, 58-56.
 
A layup by junior guard Julian Martin (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) and a layup by Polk made it 62-56 with 1:33 remaining, but the Violets sliced the margin to 62-59 on a three-point play by Udine with 1:18 remaining.
 
A layup by Polk with 46 seconds left gave the Raptors a five-point lead at 64-59, but junior forward Evan Kupferberg (Boca Raton, FL/Spanish River) cut the gap to 64-61 with a layup five seconds later. Following a Raptor turnover, Udine had a layup with 32 seconds left to make it a one-point game.
 
Smart hit the back end of a pair of foul shots with 26 seconds left to give the Raptors a 65-63 lead, but Udine came down and drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 16 seconds remaining, giving NYU the lead for good. A pair of foul shots by Burns made it a 68-65 game with 2.3 seconds left. The Raptors quickly worked the ball upcourt for a last-ditch effort to tie the game, but a desperation three-pointer by Polk was off the mark.
 
The first half was just as close until the last nine minutes, when the Violets scored 17 of the final 24 points to break a 17-17 tie. They took a 34-24 lead into the locker room at the break, setting up the wild second half.
 
Burns finished with 21 points for NYU, while junior guard Hakeem Harris (New York, NY/Blair Academy) scored 12 before fouling out late in the game. Udine netted 11 and Kupferberg added 10 for the Violets.
 
Kupferberg and Burns also notched 17 and 16 rebounds, respectively, to finish with double-doubles. Udine added a game-high six assists.
 
Polk finished with 33 points – the fourth 30-point game of his brilliant senior season – as he shot 13-for-28 from the floor. He finished his lone year with the Raptors scoring 466 points, the 14th-highest single-season total in program history, and posted the eighth-highest season scoring average at 22.2.
 
Senior guard/forward Teon Russell (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for his 24th and final career double-double. He finished his stellar Raptor career with 986 points in 72 games for a 13.7 average. He also finished seventh on the career rebounding list with 579, and his 8.0 rebounding average was the fifth-best career mark in program history.
 
Smart added nine points for the Raptors.
 
Senior guard Jason Richardson (Cedarbrook, NJ/Winslow Township) set a new program record by appearing in his 101st game at Rutgers-Camden. Richardson, who had been tied with Reggie Owens (1981-85) for the program record in games played, finished with four points, two rebounds and four steals. He ended his career with 177 steals, second on the program's all-time list, and was 13th on the career list with 155 assists.