New York, NY - Shooting 8-for-9 from the free throw line in the final minute, New York University turned a tied contest into a seven-point victory, defeating the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team 63-56 in the opener of the NYU Men's Basketball Holiday Classic on Monday evening.

The Golden Knights fell to 6-2 on the season and will face Regis College at 6:00 pm on Tuesday. NYU remains unbeaten at 8-0.

In the first half, Clarkson held a narrow advantage, 7-6, with three minutes expired, but the Violets went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Clarkson closed the gap back to two points, but again NYU went on a scoring binge while the Knights went cold, adding nine straight points to take a 25-14 lead at the 6:19 mark. Clarkson took a time out to stop the run, and the strategy worked as the Knights climbed back to within five points at halftime.

Clarkson scored eight of the first 11 points in the second half to tie the score at 34-34 and took its first lead since the 17:03 mark of the first half when John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) scored a lay up. From the point on, neither team could gain much of a foothold for an advantage, with NYU peaking with a four-point lead late in the half. A 3-pointer from Marques Charlton (Deer Park, NY) closed the gap to one point and Clarkson again gained the advantage on a John Coleman jumper, 51-49, with 3:47 to go. NYU's Andy Stein, who led all scorers with 27 points, scored the next seven points for the Violets, including a 3-point play that broke the 53-53 tie with just over a minute to go. Leading by three points, NYU sunk five free throws in the next 40 seconds while holding the Knights scoreless. A 3-pointer from Tyler Barron (Burlington, VT) pulled the Knights back to within five, but the clock ran out on the comeback for Clarkson.

All season Clarkson has used the 3-pointer to soften up the inside game, but NYU had the Knights scouted well, allowing them to make only two 3-pointers in the game while allowing only 12 total shots from the perimeter, nearly nine below Clarkson's seasonal average. However, both team's dialed up their defensive performances as Clarkson held NYU to 15 points below their season average and became only the third team in eight contests to come within 18 points of the Violets.

John Coleman led the Knights with 18 points, shooting 9-for-14 from the field. Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists. Charlton also contributed 12 points and four assists. Felix Llanos (Queens, NY) was clearly the Violets' defensive target for the evening, as the senior, who entered the game averaging nearly 23 points per game, was held to 1-for-8 shooting and seven points total.

Stein led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 11-for-19 from the floor, and added in 11 rebounds. Kyle Stockmal tossed in 11 points, going 9-for-12 from the free throw line, and contributed five assists. Carl Yaffe came into the game averaging better than 17 points per game as NYU's leading scorer, but was held to 12 points, shooting 4-for-9 from the field.