Men's Basketball Drops UAA Opener to Carnegie Mellon

Richie Polan led NYU in scoring and rebounding.

New York University's unbeaten run to start the season ended Friday night with a 78-57 loss to #14-ranked Carnegie Mellon University in the Violets' University Athletic Association (UAA) opener at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center.

Carnegie Mellon (11-1, 2-0) led 36-25 at halftime and never let the Violets (9-1, 0-1 UAA) climb any closer than eight points in the second half. Two-time All-Association honoree Ryan Einwag led the Tartans with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Shane Rife finished with 14 points. Jack Anderson tallied 10 of his 12 points in the first half as the victors shot 60.9% (14-for-23) during the opening stanza to take a 36-25 lead into the locker room.

Overall, Carnegie Mellon shot 53.7% (29-for-54), including 42.9% (6-for-14) from three-point range, and owned a 36-20 rebounding edge

Richie Polan led NYU in scoring for the third time this season, ending with 12 points and six rebounds, while Keith Jensen added 11 tallies as the Violets were held to just 39.6% (19-for-48) shooting.

After trading points during the opening minute, Einwag sandwiched a pair of long-range shots around a trey by Anderson to give the Tartans an 18-9 lead 12:36 before halftime. However, the Violets responded with a 9-2 run, as Zachary Kuba hit a pair of triples and produced all seven of his points during the surge.

From there, Carnegie Mellon netted 12 straight unaswered points, starting with five from the hot hand of Anderson and ending with a lay-uyp by Jon Wolleben. Before the Violets finally responded, they found themselves trailing 32-18 just 5:43 before intermission.

A putback by D.J. Glavan (7 points) helped NYU get within 62-54 with 4:17 remaining, but Einwag answered with a bucket and restored the Tartans to a 64-54 lead. After a Violet miss, Carnegie Mellon grabbed four offensive rebounds before Corey O'Rourke sank two free throws to make it 66-54 with 3:02 left.

NYU will look to resume a new winning streak Sunday, Jan. 11, when it hosts UAA rival the University of Rochester at noon. That game will begin an Association doubleheader that also includes a battle between the Violets' and Yellowjackets' squads that are both ranked in the top-10 nationally.