The New York University men's basketball team has advanced to the Elite Eight after a convincing victory over the Hardin-Simmons University Cowboys on Friday, March 14, at the John A. Paulsen Center in Manhattan.

The Violets recorded a 91-59 win over the visitors to advance to the program's first Elite Eight appearance since the 1993-94 season.

"It means everything," said NYU Head Coach Dave Klatsky. "We're so excited to be along for this ride. I'm sure in reflection we'll realize what we've done and be really proud of what we did, but right now we're just trying to get through each possession in the game we're in."

The Violets were hot out of the gates, taking a double-digit lead in the first 10 minutes following 10-4 and 10-2 runs. NYU's offense thrived in the paint down the stretch of the first half, scoring 22 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes.

NYU held the visiting Cowboys to 18 points in the first half, the third-fewest points scored by an opponent this season over the first 20 minutes. Friday evening's contest marked just the third time the Violets have eclipsed the half-century mark in the opening frame during the '24-'25 season.

The Cowboys showed fight to open the second half, outscoring NYU 14-7 in that stretch. Back-to-back three pointers by Bryan Moussako and Jack Stone helped re-establish the Violet offense.

Ultimately, the first-half Violet lead was insurmountable.

"Coming into these games, you don't really know what to expect," Klatsky added. "We liked our game plan coming in, but it really doesn't matter at the end of the day when our energy is this good. The guys were ready to go, Violet Nation was behind us and we were able to jump on them early, which was really helpful because you just build that lead and go from there." 

Tristan How notched his 12th double-double this season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Zay Freeney logged 14 points on 3-5 shooting from three-point range. Chuma Oyigbo added a key 10 points off the bench.

"We knew this was going to be a tough team, a different team," said How, the UAA Player of the Year. "We came with the energy that Coach talked about and really executed that game plan."

Brock Susko scored nine points, including the 1,000th of his collegiate career. He played his first three seasons at Cal Lutheran University, totaling 650 points there.

The Sweet 16 win is the team's 27th victory of the season, continuing to add to a new program record.

"Seeing Violet Nation come out and support us, it really does help. So, come back tomorrow night. Tomorrow's game is going to be really quick, fast-paced, so we're going to need the crowd behind us," said Klatsky.

NYU will face the University of Redlands Bulldogs on Saturday at 7:30pm back at the Paulson Center with a trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four on the line. The Elite Eight match-up is the program's second meeting with the Bulldogs and first since an 82-79 road victory in November 2023.