The New York University men's basketball team lost to Case Western Reserve University 88-82 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest on Sunday, January 29, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.

The Violets scored the first nine points of the game and led by as many as 12 in the first half, but could not hold off the charging Spartans.

NYU led 27-15 following Michael Savarino's three-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. But, the Spartans followed with an 18-5 run and took a 33-32 halftime lead.

The Violets never led again.

"We came out with the energy we had on Friday night (a win over Carnegie Mellon)," said Head Coach Dave Klatsky. "But, when they made their run we let off the gas a little bit. It's a game of runs and we couldn't sustain it."  

With 14:21 remaining in the game, Quinn Clark hit a layup to pull the Violets within 42-41.  

An ensuing 11-4 streak then gave the Spartans a 53-45 lead.
 
Nikola Lipovic's layup with 7:38 remaining brought the Violets to within 57-53. However,  NYU's shooting went cold and soon the deficit was 14 points, 73-59.

The Violets were able to pull within 87-82 on another Savarino trey with just 25 ticks remaining, but that was the last points NYU managed.   

"We've had a few games where we were down double-digits and fought back. We're learning," said Spencer Freedman, who tallied a team-high 18 points. "We have a lot of young guys. Winning is a skill, a habit. We've shown that we can claw back into games. Now we just have to get over the hump."

Six Violets finished in double figures. 

Savarino finished with 14 points. Clark and Zay Freeney each had 12, while Lipovic and Cinque Stephens both contributed 10.  

Savarino and Stephens each collected six rebounds, and Freedman totaled a game-high nine assists.

 The Violets are back in action when they travel to Pittsburgh, PA, for a UAA contest against Carnegie Mellon University on Friday, February 4. Tip-off is set for 7:30pm.