Mattola's 33 Not Enough; NYU-Poly Drops Third Straight
First-place Old Westbury runs away in 2nd half
Brooklyn, NY - NYU-Poly junior forward Anthony Mattola couldn't miss. Unfortunately, the rest of the NYU-Poly men's basketball team couldn't make their shots as the Jays squandered a 33-33 half time score and fell to Old Westbury 80-58 in a Skyline Conference contest Tuesday night. Mattola's 20 points in the first half positioned the Jays for the huge upset, but NYU-Poly shot just 27% in the second half, while the Panthers junior Lester Prosper pumped in 14 of his team-high 18 in the second half to guide Old Westbury to the win.
The game was decided in the first seven minutes of the second frame, when Old Westbury went on a decisive 14-0 run, with Prosper putting in six and Shane DeNully added two buckets. The Jays did not score until the 13:03 mark when Mattola hit on a jumper inside the paint. But, the Panthers denied any thought of a comeback as they rattled off three more buckets to increase the lead to 53-35.
Junior Jason Buckner (Littleton, CO) added 11 for the Jays, while Mattola (Brooklyn, NY) and Jason Samuels (Holmdel, NJ ) each pulled down eight rebounds. The Jays shot 36% for the game and went 15-21 from the line, while Old Westbury shot 40% from the field, including 50% in the second half. The Panthers, who out-rebounded NYU-Poly 39-32, converted on 21-of-28 from the foul line.
NYU-Poly (3-11, 1-8 Skyline) travels to Purchase on Saturday, while Old Westbury (11-4, 9-1 Skyline) plays at Maritime on Thursday.
