Box Score

Although New York University found itself in the depths of a 19-point deficit early in the second half, panic never pervaded the Violets' huddle.

"We were pretty confident we could come back and win," Chip Borsi said.  "We were talking in the locker room at halftime and it never really felt like we were down by that much.  We just kept playing intense."

Soon enough, NYU whittled a 41-22 deficit down to single digits, then traded the lead back and forth with Case Western Reserve University before Borsi buried a three-pointer with 4:09 left, giving the Violets the lead for good as their stirring 79-73 victory over their University Athletic Association (UAA) rival completed an improbable comeback tale Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.

"This is probably the biggest comeback we've ever had in a league game," NYU head coach Joe Nesci said. " I think that we executed and made some shots from the outside, and I think it relaxed us offensively.  The bigger piece was defensively, we just did a good job in the second half.  We were plus-seven on the boards in the second half, which was huge because we didn't allow any second shots."

After shooting just 6-for-25 from the floor and trailing 39-22 after one half of play, the Violets (13-3, 2-3 UAA) needed a reversal of fortune just to climb back into the contest against the Spartans (5-11, 2-3 UAA). 

"I think we should just take it two points at a time.  Just get two points and get a stop at a time," said John Mish, who had a career-high-tying 24 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.  "Personally, I knew the guy who was guarding me was in foul trouble, so I just tried to be physical."

Mish scored 16 of his points in the second half and went 14-for-19 at the charity stripe.  The 6-5 senior captain scored six straight points to start a 15-0 surge that reversed a 48-34 deficit into a 49-48 advantage after Borsi buried the first of his two treys with 10:49 remaining.

After trading leads and forging ties, the Spartans spun off six straight points to go ahead 64-62 with 4:23 left.

This ultimately set the stage for Borsi on the Violets' next trip downcourt, as the junior calmly set up on the wing and swished his long-range shot to put NYU up 65-64.

"There was some confusion on their defense," Borsi said.  "I was just wide open.  Nothing really crossed my mind but shoot the ball."

After Keith Jensen, who scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, split the Case defense for a one-handed dunk, NYU went 12-for-18 at the charity stripe over the final 2:31 to put an exclamation point at the end of one of its all-time great comebacks.  D.J. Glavan (14 points, 6 rebounds, career-high 5 steals) and Derek Becker (8 points) each went 4-for-4 over that span, while Mish had three of his free-throw conversions to help ice the victory.

"They showed tremendous determination and a great togetherness," Nesci said. " Everybody was part of that win in the second half."

For the game, NYU went 31-for-41 (75.6%) at the charity stripe, including 21-for-29 (72.4%) in the second half.  Over the final 20 minutes, the Violets hit 57.7% (15-for-26) of their shots to shoot 41.2% (21-for-51) for the game, including 40.0% (6-for-15) from long distance.

Steve Young scored 16 points, while Eric Duerr and Reid Anderson each netted 15 for Case.  The Spartans shot 40.0% (26-for-65) overall, but just 32.4% (11-for-34) in the second half, and went just 12-for-20 (60.0%) from the foul line.

"This was a big boost for our confidence," Mish said.

"This really shows the type of team we have," Borsi said.  "That was a special win."

NYU returns to action Friday, Jan. 30, when it hosts UAA-rival the University of Chicago at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center.  The game is a Tear It Up! event, tips off at 8 p.m. and will be preceded by the Violets' women's game against the Maroons at 6 p.m.