The New York University men's basketball team shut down the Carnegie Mellon University offense for much of the second half en route to a 59-53 victory on Sunday, January 13, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
 
The game was tied 31-31 at halftime before the Violets' (12-2, 2-1) defense took over. NYU held the Tartans (3-11, 0-3) to just four points over the first 14:38 of the second period, going on a 19-4 run to pull away.
 
With the win, the Violets gained sole possession of third place in the University Athletic Association (UAA) in the early stages of the UAA schedule.

Highlights
 
- During the second-half spurt, the Violets consistently scored in the paint. Seven of the team's eight field goals during the run came inside, with Devin Karch leading the way with eight points.
 
- NYU went up 50-35 on Evan Kupferberg's layup at the 11:52 mark. From there, neither side scored for more than six minutes before Rob Mohen finally got the Tartans on the board.
 
- Carnegie Mellon found new life in the final five minutes, getting as close as 56-53 with 37.3 seconds left after a Mohen three-point play. However, Carl Yaffe hit both ends of a one-and-one to put the game away for the Violets.
 
- Karch hit a pair of big layups after the Tartans got close late to help seal the win. He finished with a game-high 20 points, shooting 9-11 from the field to up his UAA-leading field goal percentage to 71.6%.
 
- Yaffe just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Kupferberg added eight points and four boards off the bench, while Ryan Tana made four steals and took a big charge in the final minutes.
 
"Our individual and team defense was excellent," said Head Coach Joe Nesci. "It put us in a position to take a big lead. We were able to execute some inside finishes to Devin down the stretch."
 
NYU returns to the court next weekend for its UAA Midwest road trip. The Violets first take on #12 Washington University on Friday, January 18, at 8:00 pm cst.