Box Score

In a back-and-forth battle between nationally ranked conference foes, the #16 New York University men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking defeat, falling 73-70 at #23 Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
 
In a University Athletic Association (UAA) game in which the largest margin was six, the Violets (18-3, 7-3) trailed 66-62 with two minutes left before hitting back-to-back threes to pull ahead. First, Andy Stein fed Max Wein for a three-pointer at the top of the arc, pulling NYU to within one.
 
The Eagles (17-4, 6-4) then missed a three at the other end and the Violets came up with the board. With 50 seconds left, Ryan Tana fed Andy Stein at the top of the arc, and Stein buried another trey to put NYU up 68-66.
 
In a play reminiscent of the first meeting between the teams, when the Violets won 89-73, Tana then knocked the ball loose from Austin Claunch, and Kyle Stockmal eventually came up with it after a scramble. Stockmal then went to the line with 37.3 seconds left and hit both free throws, making it a four-point game.
 
Emory responded quickly, however, to win the game in stunning fasion. First, Alex Greven drained a trey from the left corner. On the ensuing inbounds, Michael Friedberg made a steal, and with 18 seconds to play Claunch drove and hit a layup to put the Eagles back ahead, 71-70.
 
The Violets had possession with a chance to win the game but did not get a shot off, turning the ball over with 8.3 ticks on the clock. After Claunch sank two free throws, Stockmal dribbled upcourt and pulled up a few feet beyond the arc looking for a game-tying three at the buzzer. His try hit rim and rattled out, however, giving Emory the victory.
 
“Our guys gave everything they had tonight and did everything the coaches asked of them in order to win this game,” said NYU head coach Joe Nesci. “The guys showed great heart to come back and take the lead.
 
“We did a great job defensively, holding them to under 40% shooting and getting 10 blocked shots,” he added.
 
Despite being held to 35.5% (11-31) shooting in the first half, the Eagles took a 36-34 lead into the locker room. After a back-and-forth second half, Carl Yaffe drained a three to forge the 10th tie of the game, 62-62, with 2:29 to play.
 
After that Claunch and Greven both went 2-2 from the line to put Emory up four before Wein and Stein responded with their big three-pointers. But the Eagles made their miraculous comeback in the final 30 seconds and pulled to within one game of the second-place Violets in the UAA standings; Washington University took over sole possession of first place with a 78-60 home win over Case Western Reserve University.
 
Stein led the Violets with 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half, on 8-12 shooting. Yaffe recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five blocks, four assists and three steals. Stockmal also netted 15 points, going 8-9 from the line, while Wein had 10 points.
 
Claunch led all scorers with 18 points and eight assists. Friedberg had 14 points and seven blocks, while Greven also netted 14 points. Jake Davis finished with 11 points, six boards and three steals.
 
NYU returns to action on Sunday when it travels to the University of Rochester. Tip-off is at noon.