NEW YORK, N.Y. – Despite a furious comeback attempt late in the second half and a game-high 26 points from junior forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice), the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team suffered an 89-80 setback versus No. 17 nationally-ranked New York University in University Athletic Association action on Sunday afternoon inside the Jerome S. Coles Center.

The Spartans (8-10, 0-7 UAA) will play at home for the first time in three weeks next Friday evening versus Brandeis University (Mass.) at 8:00 p.m. as part of CWRU's seventh annual Throwback Weekend. With the victory, the Violets improve to 15-2 overall and 5-2 in the Association.

In the first half, NYU scored the first four points and eventually jumped out to a 14-6 advantage with 14:21 showing on the clock. Back-to-back three point field goals from Fowler late in the half got the Spartans to within 34-24 with 4:17 left before intermission. A quick 6-0 NYU run spanning 1:45 of play pushed the lead back to 16, but the Spartans were once again able to cut the deficit to 10, at 42-32, on Fowler's third trey of the half with 56.2 seconds remaining on the clock. NYU then got the final bucket of the period on a triple by Kyle Stockmal to make the score 45-32 at the break.

In the second half, the Spartans hung tough but trailed by double-digits for the most of the period. NYU built its lead to 19, at 70-51, when Andy Stein hit a layup at 9:57. Undaunted, the Spartans chipped away with a 23-13 run over the next 8:02 and cut the deficit to nine when freshman point guard Jordan Dean (St. Johns, Fla./Creekside) recorded a steal and made the ensuing lay-up to bring the score to 83-74 with 1:55 left. NYU hit a bucket on the next possession before Spartan freshman forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) knocked down a triple with an assist from Dean shrinking the lead to eight (85-77) with 1:15 left.

After a Spartan foul, NYU's Ryan Tana hit 1-of-2 free throw attempts to push the score to 86-77. The Spartans then raced the ball up the court and junior guard Robert Scott (Paoli, Pa./Conestoga) knocked down another three making the NYU lead just six with 51 seconds left. However, the Violets were able to hit 3-of-4 from the line while holding the Spartans without a bucket on their final two possessions to secure the 89-80 victory.

Fowler's 26 points were accompanied by 13 rebounds for his third-consecutive double-double and ninth career. Sophomore center David Thompson (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and senior forward Tom Summers (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, while McLoughlin added 11 off the bench.

Andy Stein paced four Violets in double-figures with 25 points, while Tana and Stockmal added 13 apiece.