St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 24, 2016 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team was outscored 8-0 in the final 4:19 as the Bears dropped a heartbreaker at home to No. 17-ranked New York University 75-72 Sunday in University Athletic Association (UAA) play in St. Louis.

New York improved to 13-2, 3-2 in the UAA, while WashU dropped to 10-6, 2-3 in the UAA. The Bears have lost their last four home games by a combined 10 points.

Sophomore forward Matt Highsmith led the Bears with 14 points, while senior Luke Silverman-Lloyd added 13 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting. Junior forward Clinton Hooks had nine points and six boards. The Bears shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field in the loss, and were outrebounded 38-35.

WashU raced out to an 11-2 lead in the opening four minutes of play behind some stellar defensive play. The Bears limited NYU to 0-for-6 shooting and forced three turnovers before the Violets recorded their first field goal at the 14:52 mark.

The Bears built the lead to 16-6 on a baseline three by sophomore guard Jake Knupp, and then a coast-to-coast bucket by junior guard Peter Rankowitz gave WashU its largest lead of the game at 18-6 and forced an NYU timeout. The Violets opened the contest 2-for-13 from the field.

The Violets got back into the contest behind the three-point shooting of Joe Timmes. He canned 4-of-5 threes in the opening half and got the lead down to three (36-33) with a triple with 2:19 left.

WashU had 11 players in the opening half score as the Bears shot 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the field. Silverman-Lloyd led WashU with eight points.

The Bears got the lead up to nine (60-51) with 12:30 to play on a free-throw by sophomore center David Schmelter. Highsmith had eight of the first 12 points for WashU in the second half. The lead would grow to double figures (67-57) with 8:52 left after a 7-0 run by WashU.

New York answered back with a 6-0 run to get the advantage down to four (67-63), but a three-pointer by Silverman-Lloyd gave WashU a 72-67 lead with 4:19 to play. That would be the final bucket for the Bears, who were 0-for-4 with five turnovers in the final four minutes of play.

NYU took its only lead of the game with 35 seconds left on a lay-up by Evan Kupferberg. The Bears had the ball with a chance to tie the game, but did not get a shot off.

Kupferberg had a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds, while Timmes added 14 first-half points. NYU shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field and hit 16-of-23 from the free-throw line.

WashU closes out a four-game home stand against University of Rochester Friday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. (CT), and Emory University Sunday, Jan. 31, at Noon. WashU's coaching staff will be wearing sneakers on the sidelines for both contests as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers.

BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with New York, 42-15, and the win by NYU snapped a three-game losing streak in St. Louis … WashU led for 38:59 in a game that featured just one lead change ... The Bears are 0-3 against ranked teams this season.