In a clash of two top-25 teams, the #22-ranked New York University men's basketball team suffered a 103-80 loss to #5 Emory University (17-4) on Sunday, February 15, in Atlanta, GA.

Both teams were on fire from three-point range in the first half as the Eagles jumped out of the gate with a 15-5 lead after making all five of their shots from distance.

The Violets responded with their own 15-5 run to tie the game at 20. During the run, Alex Daniels came off the bench to score seven points.

NYU later took a 38-33 lead after Carnegie Johnson connected from beyond the arc.

It was a back-and-forth first half featuring seven lead changes. An alley-oop dunk by the Eagles to end the first half put Emory ahead 52-48 going into the break.

Luke Kolaja led all Violets with 19 first-half points, including four three-pointers.

NYU had trouble slowing down Emory in the second half as they were outscored 51-32 over the final 20 minutes.

The Eagles opened the second half on a 9-2 run before Kolaja answered with a three-pointer to get the Violets back within single-digits. NYU then cut the lead to six points after a Quinn Clark layup, but could not get any closer for the remainder of the game.

Despite the loss, Kolaja led the Violets with a season-high 32 points on an impressive 7-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. 

Clark finished the game with 11 points and nine rebounds.

NYU returns to action next Friday at the John A. Paulson Center when the Violets face Washington University in St. Louis. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm.