The New York University men's basketball team held off a late charge from Clark University to earn a 69-67 victory in the finale of the NYU Holiday Classic. NYU hosted the Classic on Saturday and Sunday, December 29-30, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
 
Three Violets, Carl Yaffe, Max Wein and Kyle Stockmal, were named to the All-Classic Team after NYU (8-1) went 2-0 in the tournament. Yaffe led the way against the Cougars (6-5), pouring in a season-high-tying 22 points on 9-14 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.
 
Highlights
 
- The Violets built an 11-point lead midway through the second half, going up 50-39 with 12:42 to play after eight straight points from Yaffe. Clark, however, battled back, scoring 10 straight points – eight of which came from All-Classic honoree Brian Vayda – to pull to within one with 10:44 to go.
 
- Though NYU never relinquished the lead, the Cougars still trailed by one with 2:41 left before the Violets took over at the free-throw line and on the defensive end. First, Stockmal was fouled on a three-point attempt and subsequently hit all three of his free throws.
 
- Clark cut the NYU lead to 66-64 two possessions later, and the score was the same when DJ Bailey took a jumper with 21 seconds left and Ryan Tana dove for a huge defensive board. After a timeout, Stockmal was fouled with 12.1 ticks on the clock and hit both free throws to make it a four-point margin.
 
- Travis Curely sank a trey with 3.7 seconds left to make it 68-67, and Tana then went to the line for a one-and-one with 3.1 seconds on the board. He hit the first and missed the second, and Curley's 70-foot prayer just grazed the rim.
 
- Stockmal finished with 15 points and four assists, while Wein had 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Devin Karch also scored in double figures with 10 points, going 6-6 from the line.
 
"We showed poise and confidence down the stretch," said Head Coach Joe Nesci. "We had good balance on both ends of the floor. We did a good job on the boards and in our execution in the half court."
 
NYU returns to action on Wednesday, January 2, for a non-conference tilt at home against Alvernia University. Tip-off is at 3:00 pm at Coles.