The New York University men's basketball team was defeated by University Athletic Association (UAA) foe Case Western Reserve University 84-81 on Friday evening, February 10, at Horsbourgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, OH.

NYU (7-14, 2-8 UAA) dug out of an early 8-0 hole and also battled back from a late 80-70 deficit, but the Violets could not hold on to a late 81-80 lead as Case (6-15, 1-9 UAA) scored the final four points of the game.

"We've continued to show resiliency all year, but tonight we just weren't able to sustain it and finish it," said Assistant Coach Michael McSloy.

After the Spartans jumped out to hot start, NYU chipped away and eventually tied the game at 25 with 8:10 remaining in the first half. The Violets took their first lead of the game, 41-40, when Joe Timmes completed a four-point play with just under two minutes left on the clock in the opening half. Timmes hit another three-pointer with three seconds left in the half to give the Violets a four-point halftime lead.

NYU built its lead to six early in the second half, before a 17-4 Case run put the hosts ahead by nine. With the Spartans leading 80-70 and just over six minutes left, Timmes hit another shot from long range to jump-start an 11-0 NYU run which saw the Violets take a one-point lead on a Doug Gertner layup.

Regan Mohler answered Gertner's bucket eight seconds later to put the Spartans back in front and a pair of free throws from Colin Zucker increased their lead to three with six seconds remaining. The Violets had one final look, but a three-point attempt from Gertner wouldn't fall as the final buzzer sounded.

Mohler scored 24 points on 12-of-18 shooting to lead all scorers.

Ross Udine led a balanced NYU offense with 17 points. The junior also dished out four assists to become the fourth player in program history to tally 400 career helpers.

"Ross is a great distributor and is always looking for the open man," added McSloy. "To accumulate 400 career assists is a great accomplishment for a guy who is the ultimate competitor."

NOTABLES:

- NYU hit a season-high 15 three-pointers in the loss. The Violets shot 15-of-31 (48.4%) from deep.

- The Violets had five players score in double figures. Joining Udine with 10+ points were Timmes (14), Jimmy Martinelli (13), Jack Heller (12), and Gertner (11).

- Martinelli and Timmes each grabbed nine rebounds to lead all players.

- Heller was 4-of-5 from long distance.

The Violets return to the court Sunday for their final road game of the year at Carnegie Mellon University. Tip-off in Pittsburgh, PA, is slated for 12:00pm.