They only took one lead in the game. But, one was enough as New York University's #13-ranked men's basketball team edged #14 University of Washington in St. Louis 65-64 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) thriller on Friday, January 19, at the Paulson Center in Manhattan.

The Violets (12-3, 2-2) never led in the contest until Spencer Freedman's three-pointer with just 36 seconds left gave NYU a 65-62 lead.

Several Wash U potential game-tying three-point attempts followed, but none connected.

The Bears (12-3, 2-2) did pull within one after Will Grudzinski hit two free throws with one second remaining. But, they never got their hands on the ball again as the Violets held on to the victory.

NYU trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and still trailed by 10, 62-52, with just over four minutes remaining.

That's when Freedman went to work, scoring ALL of NYU's remaining 13 points as the Violets pulled off the improbable victory.      

"We needed to win," Freedman said. "I felt like I had been getting good shots the whole game but they just weren't going in. But, that wasn't going to deter me from taking them when they were there. My teammates found me in good spots and when I'm open, I'm going to take it."

Freedman finished with 20 points and his coach's undying gratitude.

"Sometimes, the game comes down to individual performances, and those types of games happen when you have really good players, especially Spender Freedman, who is the best point guard in the country," said Head Coach Dave Klatsky.

Two other Violets, Zay Freeney (13) and Michael Savarino (12) finished as double-digit scorers. Freedman also led the team with five assists, while Quinn Clark cleared the boards with a team-high 10 rebounds.  

NYU had lost its two previous games.

"I wasn't really thinking about a three-game losing streak when we were down," Klatsky admitted. "I was just thinking can we win another game on our schedule. These UAA games are brutal."

And, another UAA game is on the horizon as the Violets host the University of Chicago back at te Paulson Center on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 12:00pm,