Led by Andy Stein's late-game heroics and two last-second steals, the New York University men's basketball team pulled out a thrilling 60-59 victory over Baruch College to capture the 2011 NYU Tip-Off Tournament Championship on Sunday, November 20.
 
The Violets (2-0), who hosted the tournament at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan, trailed the Bearcats (1-2) 59-56 after Fuat Yapar's three-pointer with 1:09 to play.
 
Stein was then fouled at the other end, sending him to the free-throw line with 52.0 ticks on the clock. He sank both free throws, pulling NYU to within one.
 
The Violets then made a big stop, as Chris Beauchamp missed a jumper and Carl Yaffe pulled down the rebound. NYU raced down the floor in transition, with Kyle Stockmal finding Stein wide-open under the basket for the go-ahead layup with 25.8 seconds left.
 
Baruch could not get a potential game-tying shot off from there, as the Violet defense came up with two huge plays. First, Yaffe stripped Nathaniel Young as Young drove to the basket with eight seconds remaining, and Stockmal came up with the loose ball.
 
However, the Bearcats regained possession with 2.7 seconds to play after a backcourt violation. Baruch's initial inbounds attempt was nearly stolen by Max Wein, but after intercepting the pass he stepped on the line, leaving 1.3 ticks on the clock.
 
The Bearcats' next attempted inbounds was again picked off by Wein, who swiped it near midcourt and ran down the floor as time expired.
 
"I'm really happy and proud of Andy," said NYU head coach Joe Nesci of Stein, who was named the tournament's MVP after a second straight 22-point, nine-rebound performance. "He came up with some clutch free throws and played great defense.
 
"I thought our defense was really solid the entire game," he added. "It needed to be because our offense was so out of step. But we grinded out a great win against a very good opponent."
 
The Violets' offense was in step in the early going, as they raced out to a 16-4 lead in the game's opening six minutes. They went cold from there, however, going scoreless for the next six minutes. Baruch hung tough and took its first lead of the game just before halftime on a Young jumper, taking a 24-23 edge into the locker room.
 
The Bearcats led by as many as eight in the second half, but NYU eventually came all the way back and took its own eight-point lead, 51-43, with 7:18 to play. The teams then traded leads before Stein put the Violets ahead for good and the defense came up with big turnovers.
 
Yaffe was named to the All-Tournament Team, as he added to his double-double in the tournament's opener (22 points, 11 rebounds) with 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and a career-high five steals against Baruch. Wein totaled seven points and seven boards.
 
The Bearcats' Young and Beauchamp both made the All-Tournament Team. Young led the squad against NYU with 23 points, while Beauchamp had 11 points and five rebounds. Yapar posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards to go along with three steals.
 
Rounding out the All-Tournament Team were Kyle Cancillieri of The College of New Jersey and Eric Beaulieu of Colby College. TCNJ placed third in the tournament with a 59-45 win over Colby.
 
The Violets return to action on Sunday, Nov. 27, when they host SUNY Old Westbury at Coles at 3:00 pm.