Men's Basketball Hangs Tough With #2 Washington in 67-56 Loss

Four Players Reach Double Digits as Violets Bow to Defending National Champs

D.J. Glavan finished with 13 tallies and six rebounds.

Despite an early prosperous spurt and several second-half surges that sprung hopes of an upset, New York University dropped a 67-56 decision to University Athletic Association (UAA) rival and defending NCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Champion Washington University on Sunday at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

Omar Meziab buried a pair of buckets and set up two more scores as NYU (13-5, 2-5 UAA) secured a 9-0 lead 3:47 into the contest, energizing the Coles Sports Center crowd of 782.

However, Aaron Thompson, who scored a game-high 29 points while going 9-for-19 from the floor and 5-for-9 from long distance, hit three-pointers on consecutive trips downcourt to pull #2-ranked Washington (17-1, 7-0 UAA) within 10-7. After Richie Polan canned an open jumper to put the Violets ahead by five, the Bears reeled off 21 straight points, including six apiece from Thompson and Caleb Knepper, to grab a 28-12 cushion 5:50 before the break.

A trey by D.J. Glavan (13 points, 6 rebounds) snapped NYU's scoreless streak at 7:38 and made it 28-15, but the Violets went into the half trailing 34-25 as Washington converted 61.5% (8-for-13) of its three-point tries.

In the second stanza, NYU continually threatened the defending national champions. An 8-1 run including treys by reserves Derek Becker (10 points) and Zachary Kuba, and ended with a pair of John Mish (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) free throws pulled the Violets within 52-48 with 5:47 remaining. The Violets never climbed any closer than four points, though, as Thompson accounted for four tallies during a 6-1 spurt made it 60-51 with 2:44 to go.

Becker buried a three-ball with 1:57 remaining to make it 61-56, but Washington weathered the Violets' final threat, scoring the final six points of the game to stay undefeated in the UAA.

"I thought that we had a game plan, and the guys did a good job of sticking with the plan. I felt like we had to control the game and not let the game get too fast," NYU head coach Joe Nesci said. "Even when we got down 16, we did a good job of that. I felt good about how we came back."

Keith Jensen rounded out NYU's quartet of double-digit scorers with 10 points, as NYU shot 44.4% (20-for-45) from the field, including 38.9% (7-for-18) from three-point range. The Violets canned 81.8% (9-for-11) of their free throws, but committed 17 turnovers that the Bears turned into 20 points.

Washington shot 39.6% (21-for-53) overall, but a robust 50.0% (9-for-18) from beyond the arc, and hit 80.0% (16-for-20) of its free-throw attempts. The Bears owned a 32-28 edge in rebounding, which included a 16-0 advantage on second-chance points.

NYU will see Washington again in its next contest Friday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. at the WU Fieldhouse in St. Louis.