Box Score

Kyle Stockmal's three-pointer at the buzzer rattled out as the New York University men's basketball team fell 67-65 to the University of Rochester on Friday, January 28, in front of a packed house at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

With over 1,600 fans in attendance, the Violets (12-5, 1-5) cut a nine-point deficit to two in the final five minutes of play. After Ben Dorman missed a potential go-ahead three with seven seconds left, the Yellowjackets (13-4, 5-1) came down with the board. But John DiBartolomeo missed the front end of a one-and-one with 4.3 ticks left and Carl Yaffe corralled the rebound, giving the Violets one last chance to tie or take the lead.

After a timeout with 2.3 seconds to go, Derek Becker inbounded to Stockmal in the left corner. The sophomore had a good look, but his shot hit the rim and rattled out, securing Rochester a big win to remain in first place in the University Athletic Association (UAA). NYU, meanwhile, lost its fifth UAA heartbreaker. The Violets' five UAA losses have come by an average of 3.6 points.

As with each of those contests, this one was an extremely tight, back-and-forth battle. Neither side led by more than five in the first half, and the Violets entered the break up 36-32. But after the Yellowjackets forced the eighth and final tie of the game at 48-48, they went on a 9-2 spurt to start to create some distance.

Chris Dende sank a triple with 7:06 left to make it a nine-point game, 64-53. After Andy Stein responded with a layup, DiBartolomeo converted one of his own to again make the margin nine. After that, though, NYU fought back, beginning with a Stockmal three from the corner with the shot clock winding down.

Yaffe followed with a pull-up jumper off glass, and Stein buried a hook shot to suddenly pull the Violets to within two, 65-63. After Nate Novosel hit a jumper to put Rochester back up four, Ben Dorman drained a jumper of his own, again making it a two-point contest with 1:50 to play.

Those would be the final points of the game for either side. Stein came up with a huge block on defense with 1:19 left, but Dorman's turnaround jumper went long. The Violets got another stop, aided by a tremendous defensive board by Yaffe, but Dorman's deep three hit iron. DiBartolomeo's miss at the line gave NYU one last chance, but Stockmal's three rattled out.

Stein finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Stockmal netted 14 points on the strength of four threes, while D.J. Glavan also scored in double figures with 12 points before fouling out. Yaffe had a tremendous all-around game with nine points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks.

Dende led Rochester with 17 points while shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. DiBartolomeo added 14, 12 of which came in the first half. Nate Vernon netted 11 points for the Yellowjackets.

The Violets return to the court on Sunday when they host Emory University. Tip-off is at noon.