While the win snapped the Bears’ (16-2, 7-1 UAA) victory run and handed them their first loss in UAA play, the triumph also helped the Violets (15-4, 4-4 UAA) avenge a 79-78 setback at Washington on Jan. 28 in St. Louis.
Washington entered the game ranked #7 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, while NYU was #25.
Senior Jason Boone, a D3hoops.com Preseason Second Team All-American, tallied a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for NYU.
“Anytime you have a hard-fought game like we did last week, you don’t know what to expect,” NYU head coach Joe Nesci said. “We did a good job tonight.”
Nesci’s squad looked sluggish early and fell behind 11-6. However, the Violets got points from five different players during a 10-0 run that gave them a 16-11 lead.
NYU continued to add to its lead and seized a 30-18 lead after Parker drained a trey 1:39 before the halftime horn.
Washington would not go quietly in the second half, thanks to its three-point shooting (10-20 behind the arc). Tyler Nading (game-high 22 points, 5-6 3FG) canned a three-pointer to get the Bears within 43-39 with 12:39 remaining, forcing Nesci to burn a timeout to get his team composed.
When the Violets returned to the court, they regained control of the contest with a 10-0 spurt. Boone scored five of his points during the outburst, while senior Chael Clark (seven points, career-high tying nine rebounds) tallied four.
NYU shot 58.1% (25-43) from the floor and owned a 36-23 edge thanks to the play of Boone, Clark and fellow senior Daniel Falcon (eight points, six boards).
“We did a good job getting the ball to our bigs,” Nesci said.
Troy Ruths scored 12 points in the loss for Washington, which shot 37.0% (17-46) from the floor.
NYU will try to avenge another UAA road loss when it hosts the University of Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 4, at noon. The Violets dropped a 62-60 decision to the Maroons on Monday.