The New York University men's basketball team rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit, but still fell short, 76-71, in its University Athletic Association (UAA) opener against Brandeis University on Saturday, January 11, at the Sportsplex in Manhattan.

Trailing 44-25 with four minutes to play in the first half, the Violets (7-5, 0-1) cut their deficit to 10, 46-36, at halftime.

The comeback against the Judges (9-3, 1-0) continued into the second half as Nick Macarchuk's (Alamo, CA/St. Thomas Moore Prep) layup with 8:56 to play brought NYU within four points, 65-61.

Brandeis scored the next five points, but NYU answered immediately with eight straight to cut the deficit to one point, 70-69, on Miles Somerville's (Bowie, MD/Georgetown Prep) short jumper with 1:57 remaining.   

After Brandeis' Nolan Hagerty ended the streak with a layup, Marcarchuk's layup again brought the Violets to within one with 34 seconds left.  

Collin Sawyer then hit two free throws with 22 seconds left to give Brandeis a 74-71 lead.

An NYU turnover followed, and two more free throws by Sawyer clinched the game for Brandeis as a three-point attempt by Somerville fell short in the final seconds.

"It was a tale of two halves," said Head Coach Dagan Nelson. "They shot as well as they could in the first half. They cooled down a lot in the second and I think we had a lot to do with that."

The Judges shot 47.6% (10-of-21) from three-point range in the first half, but only 14.3% (2-of-14) in the second.
  
"But, I thought the key thing was the offensive rebounding for them in key stages of the game," Nelson continued. "I think they got a couple when it was a one- or two-possession game and that made the difference."

Ethan Feldman (New York, NY/The Salisbury School) led four Violets in double figures with 16 points. Cade Hoppe (El Dorado Hills, CA/Oak Ridge) finished with 15, Somerville had 14 and Bobby Hawkinson (Frankfort, IL/Marist) added 12.

Jimmy Martinelli (Glenview, IL/Glenbrook South) had a game-high eight rebounds for NYU.

Sawyer led all scorers with 19 points.

"It was the first UAA game and both teams were really excited to play," Nelson explained. "This is arguably the best Division III league in the country, so the intensity is at a very high level. But, getting off to a slow start had us expend so much energy in coming back that we couldn't get over the hump."

The Violets are right back on the court this Friday, January 17, when they host Emory University at 8:00pm at the Sportsplex..