WashU 79 NYU 75
The New York University basketball team fell just short on Sunday afternoon, February 16, losing 79-75 to #4 Washington University-St. Louis at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan on Senior Day.
The Violets (15-7, 5-6 University Athletic Association) dropped a tight contest to the fourth-ranked Bears (20-2, 11-0), but even in the waining seconds had a chance to come away with the victory. NYU was down by five with two seconds remaining when junior guard
Iyoha Agho made a desperation three from the corner to make it a two-point game.
However, the Violets were unable to force the turnover on the inbounds play and were forced to foul the Bears' Alan Aboona, who made both subsequent free throws to ice it.
NYU had its last lead of the game, 62-60, with 8:13 remaining in regulation.
NYU and Washington went back and forth all afternoon, with both squads doing the majority of their damage down low and finishing the day even at 44-44 in points in the paint. The Violets were able to capitalize on the Bears' miscues, outscoring them 17-6 in points off turnovers. In addition, NYU hit the offensive boards hard, outrebounding Washington 14-9 there and outscoring them 19-3 on second-chance points. Lastly, the Violets' bench outscored the Bears' 29-11.
Prior to the start of the game, NYU's two seniors -- co-captains
Ryan Tana and
Jed Borovik -- were honored on Senior Day before their final regular-season home game for the Violets.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Borovik made his first-career start, scoring two points in five minutes on one attempt from the field.
- Tana finished with a team-high-tying 15 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
- Sophomore forward
Evan Kupferberg also chipped in 15 points, adding eight rebounds, a career-high five steals, a career-high-tying four blocks, and an assist.
- Sophomore point guard
Max Ralby came off the bench to score 12 points, with three assists, three steals, and a rebound.
- Freshman forward
Alec Papesch fell just short of his third-career double-double, registering 10 points and nine boards.
- Sophomore center
Costis Gontikas contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
- Agho addedd seven points, four rebounds and two assists.
"I thought we played very hard and with a lot of intensity," said Head Coach
Joe Nesci. "We did a good job of getting the ball inside, but Washington's interior defense was very strong."
The Violets will be back in action when they travel to Atlanta, GA, for a scheduled 8:00 pm contest at Emory University on Friday, February 21. They follow that up with a 12:00 pm contest at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, on Sunday, February 23.
