The New York University men's basketball team maintained its position on top of the University Athletic Asociation (UAA) with a 77-56 win over visiting Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday, February 9, at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan. 

The #3-ranked Violets (18-1, 8-1) fell behind 9-7, but went on a 9-0  run to take the lead for good.

NYU's advantage grew to 17 points, 33-16, on Hampton Sanders' layup with 3:44 remaining in the first half.

WashU (15-5, 5-4), ranked #10, then went on a 9-2 streak to end the half and the teams headed to the locker room with NYU ahead 35-25. 

The Violets scored the first six points of the second half to start a 9-2 run that again opened a 17-point lead. 

The Bears cut their deficit down to 12, but Tristan How's three-pointer lifted the Violets to an 18-point lead, 56-38, with 9:26 left in the game.

WashU pulled within 13 points at 63-50, but never got any closer as the Violets' lead grew to a game-high 21, 73-52, on Zay Freeney's layup with just 1:39 remaining.

"These UAA games are not easy.  Every one is a little different," said Head Coach Dave Klatsky. "We just jumped on them a little bit and were able to sustain the lead." 

Brock Susko led the Violets with 24 points. He shot 9-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.

How finished with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Also scoring in double figures for the Violets were Freeney (11), Sanders (10) and Jack Stone (10), who also led the squad with four assists.

"Brock's terrific, one of the guys who's the heart and soul of this team," Klatsky added. "It's great to see his shots falling like they were today."

The Violets return to action on Friday, February 14, when they travel to Atlanta, GA. They will face Emory University, who sit just one game behind NYU in the UAA standings. Tip-off is set for 5:30pm.