New York University's men's basketball team fell 96-92 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) battle that went down to the wire at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH on Sunday.

Zay Freeney scored a team-high 19 points to lead six Violets in double figures, but NYU dropped to 13-7 and 2-7 in UAA play with the loss.

The Violets shot the ball well, hitting 54.7 percent (35-of-64) from the field and 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from long range, but CWRU was even more efficient with 60/48/89 splits.

The first half was close throughout as neither team led by more than six while a Spencer Freedman trey at 2:52 gave NYU a five-point lead, 45-40. The Spartans closed the half on a 10-3 run, however, capped off by a buzzer-beating layup from Mitch Prendergast to give the hosts a 50-48 halftime lead.

Case Western Reserve grew its advantage to 10 points multiple times during the first 15 minutes of the second half, but the Violets stayed within striking distance. Trailing by five late, Michael Savarino buried a clutch triple which brought NYU's deficit to 88-86 with 2:17 to play.

Both sides traded buckets before Cinque Stephens soared in for a tip-in layup with 44 seconds on the clock to tie the score 90-90. But, CWRU drew a foul on its next possession and shot 6-of-6 at the line down the stretch to narrowly escape with a win.

Freeney shot 6-of-11 from the floor, 2-of-4 from distance and 5-of-5 at the stripe for his 19 points, along with three assists and two rebounds.

Quinn Clark finished with 15 points (7-of-10 FG), three boards, two assists and a pair of steals. Freedman totaled 14 points (5-of-9 FG), a team-high five assists, three rebounds and a steal.

Stephens had 13 points, a team-high five boards and a takeaway while Nikola Lipovic (11 points) and Savarino (10 points) rounded out NYU's double-digit scorers.

The Violets return home on Friday, February 10, to play University of Chicago at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.