The two teams played back and forth basketball over the first 11:45 or regulation with five ties and six lead changes until Tartan junior guard Geoff Kozak picked the pocket of Violet freshman guard Matthew Wilson and scored on a fast break lay-up giving Carnegie Mellon the 23-21 lead.
The Tartans would hold the lead for the rest of the half extending their lead to 13 points with 59 ticks on the clock when senior Brad Matta hit a trey. NYU would cut the Tartans lead to ten, as Carnegie Mellon would head into the half with a 40-30 advantage.
NYU would start the second half on an 8-2 run to cut the Tartans lead to four (42-38) with 14:17 on the clock. From there on, both teams would continue their play of the first half until the Tartans would build a ten-point (62-52) lead once again, this time there was 3:38 left in regulation. The Violets would pull within four points late in the contest, but that is as close as they would get, as the Tartans would pull the 68-64 upset.
Carnegie Mellon was led by Kozak’s 15 points. Sophomore Ryan Einwag chipped in with 14 and Matta finished with 13. For NYU, senior Jason Boone recorded his fifth double-double of the season leading all scorers and rebounders with 16 and 11. Seniors Daniel Falcon and Michael DeCorso were also in double figures scoring 15 and 14, respectively.
The Tartans finished the night shooting 39.3% from the floor to the Violets 43.4%. NYU is just the fourth team this season to out-rebound the Tartans, as they held the edge 42-33.
Carnegie Mellon will host University Athletic Association (UAA) opponent Brandeis University on Sunday, January 7 for a 12:00 p.m. tip in Skibo Gymnasium. The Judges will enter Sunday’s contest ranked 23rd in Division III.