The Violets, who were held without a field goal the final 10:25, led by five points (57-52) late in the contest before Washington U. countered with an 8-2 run to regain the lead. Senior Scott Stone started the run with a jump hook, and classmate Mike Grunst added a lay-up to trim the Violets’ lead to 57-56.
After junior Jason Boone put in two free throws for NYU, sophomore Troy Ruths scored on a jump-hook in the lane. The Bears then rebounded an errant Violets jumper and Stone pushed the ball ahead to freshman Sean Wallis, who raced down the right sideline. In one motion, Wallis caught and threaded a low bounce pass through the NYU defense to Ruths, who took one step before sending home a two-handed dunk for a 60-59 Bears lead. WU added five free throws to round out the scoring.
Ruths finished with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while Stone tallied a game-high 19 points. Wallis posted a season-high seven assists. Senior Jason Kildare led NYU with 17 points.
NYU opened a 10-point lead with 5:10 left in the first half when Kildare slipped a bounce pass to sophomore Michael Magee, whose lay-up ended an 8-0 run and forced a Bears timeout. Kildare also scored four of his 10 first-half points in the run.
After the WU timeout, the Violets extended to a 37-22 halftime advantage. Kildare led New York, which connected on 16-of-30 field goals (.533) in the frame, with five assists, while junior Michael DeCorso added eight points. Sophomore Danny O’Boyle led the Bears, who shot just .300 (9-of-30) from the field, with six points on two triples.
The Bears trailed 44-27 early in the second half before junior Nick Nikitas hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to spark a 13-0 run. Nikitas followed with another trey from the right wing the next trip down the floor, and junior Jonathan Breshears added a tip-in to draw WU within nine points.
Ruths then scored a basket and was fouled. Ruths’ free throw bounced off the front of the rim, but the rebound was deflected back to him; he then passed the ball out to Stone, who buried another three from the left wing to cut the deficit to four points (44-40) with 11 minutes to play.
The Violets (13-2, 2-2 UAA) answered with five straight points, but the Bears rallied again. Down 51-42, Nikitas and Stone notched back-to-back three-pointers to bring the crowd back to its feet. Ruths scored the next four points--a tip-in and two free throws--to give WU its first lead (52-51) since the 14:13 mark (9-7) of the first half.
Washington University (11-4, 3-1 UAA), which is tied for first place in the conference race, returns to action Sunday, Jan. 22 versus Brandeis University. Tip off is set for 11 a.m. at the WU Field House.