The New York University men's basketball team was edged 57-55 by Case Western Reserve University in a University Athletic Association (UAA) game on Friday, January 11, in Cleveland, OH.    

In a game that was tight throughout, the Violets (6-7, 0-2) scored the first bucket of the game, but quickly fell behind the Spartans (8-5, 1-1) by seven, 17-10. However, NYU then embarked on a 17-6 run to close out the first half with a 27-23 lead.

Most responsible for that advantage was the Violets' Dom Cristiano, who led both teams with 16 points and seven rebounds over the first 20 minutes.

Cam Moore's two free throws early in the second half gave NYU its largest lead of the game, 34-28. However, Case Western's 16-7 run gave the Spartans a 44-41 lead.

Jimmy Martinelli's steal and layup tied the score at 44 each, but the Spartans went on a 13-4 streak and took a game-high nine-point lead, 57-48.

However, the Violets responded with the next six points, pulling within three, 57-54, on Cristiano's put-back with 1:33 remaining in the game.

Neither team scored again until Jule Brown hit one of two free throws with 7.9 seconds left.

The Spartans' Sam Hansen was then fouled, but missed the front end of a one-and one. That gave NYU one more opportunity to tie or win the game, but Moore's coast-to-coast drive was unsuccessful as the buzzer sounded. 

Cristiano led all players with 26 points and 16 rebounds.

Moore and Brown each finished with nine points, while Martinelli collected 11 rebounds.

Michael Hollis led Case Western Reserve with 12 points.

The Violets are back in action on Sunday when they'll face Carnegie Mellon University in another UAA affair. That matchup is set to begin at 12:00pm in Pittsburgh, PA.