With snow falling outside, Kyle Stockmal sank a flurry of three-pointers to lead the 23rd-ranked New York University men's basketball team to an 81-71 victory over the University of Chicago on Friday, January 20, at the Ratner Athletics Center in Chicago, IL.
 
Stockmal drained seven threes in all, becoming just the fourth player in school history to hit at least seven treys in a game, en route to scoring a career-high 26 points. Carl Yaffe and Ryan Tana each added 18 points as the Violets (13-1, 3-1) snapped a five-game losing streak in the Windy City.
 
With the win, NYU kept pace with #8 Emory University for second place in the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings at 3-1. The Violets' next opponent, Washington University, is the lone unbeaten team in UAA play at 4-0.
 
"They battled us the whole way, but I thought we played really well," said NYU head coach Joe Nesci of the performance at Chicago. "I thought our defensive effort was really good and that we had a good blend on offense. The guys did a good job of sharing the ball."
 
The Violets shared the ball plenty early as they built a huge lead. A big Yaffe dunk made it 6-0 in the early minutes, as the Maroons (9-6, 2-2) were held off the board for the first six minutes. Once Chicago did finally break through, Stockmal went off, scoring eight straight points for NYU to put the squad up 18-4.
 
The Maroons hung tough the rest of the half and entered the locker room down just eight, 41-33, despite 14 points from Stockmal and 10 from Tana.
 
The lead was down to seven early in the second half before Stockmal again took over, converting a four-point play and then draining a three just moments after an Andy Stein dunk. Stockmal's seventh and final three – just one off the school record – came with 15:30 to play and put the Violets up 16.
 
"Kyle was taking good shots, as he usually does," commented Nesci. "He's had some tougher games shooting, but he's always confident and takes good shots. He came up big tonight."
 
The lead was as high as 19 after a Tana jumper with 3:27 to play, but Chicago cut the final deficit with a barrage of three-pointers late. The Maroons got as close as nine with 29.9 seconds left, but it was too little too late.
 
Stockmal added seven rebounds to his 26-point effort, finishing 7-8 from three and 8-10 from the field. Tana added seven assists and two steals to his career-high 18 points, while Yaffe had six boards, four assists and two steals to go with his 18 points. Stein totaled nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
Steve Stefanou led Chicago with 19 points, going 9-11 from the line. Matt Johnson added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals.
 
NYU returns to the hardwood on Sunday, Jan. 22, for another huge UAA game. The Violets take on first-place Washington at 12:00 pm central in St. Louis, MO.