The New York University men's basketball team suffered a 97-75 loss to Washington University-St. Louis on Friday night, February 20, in St. Louis, MO.
The Violets (16-7, 7-5 University Athletic Association) and the #20 Bears (18-5, 7-5 UAA) have split the season series and are locked in a tie for second place in the UAA standings along with the University of Chicago (15-8, 7-5 UAA). Emory University (18-5, 8-4 UAA) sits atop the standings.
NYU was once again led by
Hakeem Harris, who poured in a game-high 30 points on 8-of-16 from the field. The junior guard was 5-of-8 from three-point range and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. He added three rebounds, two assists and two steals, as well.
"Hakeem was agressive and his scoring helped keep us in the game as much as he could," said NYU Senior Assistant Coach
John Pelin. "As a team we've got to be more agressive, play much better offensivley and take care of the ball."
As a team, the Violets kept pace with Washington on the boards (39-36 Washington) and in points in the paint (36-34 NYU). Where the Bears held the advantage was forcing turnovers, outscoring the Violets 25-10 in points off turnovers.
"Our defensive effort wasn't on the same level it has been the last couple of games," continued Pelin. "We didn't get as many stops as we needed and didn't contest their three-point shots or fight through screens like we needed to. When Washington did miss, they got some offensive rebounds that helped them extend their lead. I think that carried over to the offensive end and forced us to play catchup a little bit and make some tough plays that ended up as turnovers." HIGHLIGHTS: -
Evan Kupferberg finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes, while
Patrick Burns chipped in 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds in 30 minutes.
- NYU had a good day from the foul line, shooting 16-of-19 (84.2 percent). The Bears were 52.1 percent (37-of-71) from the floor, including 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from three-point range.
- David Fatoki of Washington finished with 26 points and 10 assists.
The Violets will return to the court when they face Chicago on Sunday, February 22. Tipoff in Chicago, IL, is scheduled for 12:00 pm CT/1:00 pm ET.
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