NEW YORK, NY – Despite making three three-pointers in the final minute and five seconds to twice pull within four, the University of Rochester men's basketball fell to the 13th-ranked New York University Violets, 80-73, on Friday evening inside the John A. Paulson Center.
 
Zay Feeney opened the contest with a triple for the home squad, as the Violets and 'Jackets traded buckets in the early going before a quick, 7-0 spurt gave NYU a 12-5 lead just shy of the 15-minute mark.
 
The Violets would lead for much of the first 10 minutes, but after triples from Matt Wiele and Malachi Moore pulled the Yellowjackets within a possession, Matt Niemczura made it a one-point game with his fastbreak layup from Tomiwa Adetosoye with 11:21 left in the first.
 
Cinque Stevens would answer on the other end for the Violets, bringing NYU's lead back out to three, but three-straight buckets from Adetosoye, including a pair keyed by NYU turnovers, would give UR its first lead of the night.
 
Adetosoye made it 21-20 Rochester with a dunk on the fastbreak before the sophomore turned an NYU turnover into a fastbreak layup and a three-point UR lead with 9:06 left until the halftime break.
 
Adetosoye's layup capped off an 11-2 run over 2:51 that gave Rochester its first lead of the night, and while NYU would answer with two quick ones of their own, back-to-back threes by Wiele and Niemczura would make it a five-point UR advantage, 29-24, at the 4:33 mark of the first.
 
The Violets though, would end the first half on a 7-2 run, as Spencer Freedman's triple capped off seven straight to put the home side back in front before Moore's layup made it a 33-32 NYU lead at the break.
 
Three-pointers by Adetosoye and Logan Jagodzinski would keep things close early on in the third, but after Jagodzinski's trey helped UR retake a one-point lead, the Violets answered with a big run, stretching their lead out to their largest of the night.
 
NYU retook the lead on Emmanuel Onuama's layup with 17:28 to play, before Freeman got going with another triple. In total, the Violets held UR to just 4-for-9 from the field and forced five turnovers over an eight-minute stretch, outscoring Rochester, 21-8, from the 17:40 mark of the second half till there were just over nine minutes to play.
 
Freeney's triple at the 11:15 mark made it an eight-point game before the junior added two more to stretch NYU's lead out to double digits. Stephens would cap off the run with two free throws, and the Violets held their largest lead of the night, 58-46, with 9:15 to play.
 
Threes by Adetosoye and Wiele pulled Rochester back within 10, but the Violets would keep things at an arm's length for much of the second half. Freedman's two free throws at the five-minute mark brought NYU's lead back out to double digits before the 'Jackets made a run to pull within five.
 
Adeotosoye knocked down four free throws as part of a career night, while Moore, who scored 11 of his 18 in the second half, brought Rochester within five with 2:47 remaining.
 
The Violets would go back up 10, hitting five free throws over the next minute and a half, but Wiele and Moore then went back-to-back forcing a turnover in-between, this time pulling Rochester within four with under a minute left.
 
Down 73-69, Rochester fouled and sent Freeman to the line, where he went 2-for-2, while Moore went just 1-for-2 at the other end, and with two more free throws the Violets extended their lead to seven.
 
Moore answered with another three-pointer, one of three makes for the first-year and 12 on the night for UR, again making it a four-point game, 77-73. And while Rochester nearly got a turnover on the inbounds, NYU got a timeout just in the nick of time, and Freeman and Stephens hit their free throws over the final 10 seconds to seal the victory.
 
The loss drops Rochester to 8-9 (2-4 UAA) on the year, while #13 NYU moves to 14-3 (4-2 UAA) with the win.
 
Adetosoye led UR with a career-high 22 points and eight assists, adding three steals, while Moore scored 18 points and Wiele added 17, shooting 5-for-5 from three. On the glass, Jagodzinski tallied a team-high seven rebounds, while Wiele led the 'Jackets with two blocks.
 
As a team, Rochester made a season-high 12 three-pointers, shooting 40 percent (12-for-30) and 44.1 percent overall, but the Violets also shot above 40 percent at 44.6 percent, and made 24-of-27 from the free-throw line.
 
The Yellowjackets will look to bounce back and snap their four-game skid when they wrap up the weekend in Waltham, MA with a matchup against Brandeis University on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 12:00 p.m.