The NYU men’s basketball team traveled upstate yesterday to take on Purchase College. A strong performance by Violets’ junior guard Ross Udine wasn’t enough to slow down Purchase College’s offensive onslaught on its White Out Night — the Violets took a 91-74 loss, falling to 4-2.

Udine was electric on the court, scoring 22 points on 9-13 shooting, including three shots from behind the arc. However, his night wasn’t enough to thwart Purchase’s stellar shooting — 52.4 percent from the field. The Violets were also outrebounded 41-32.

The Violets played catch-up for the entirety of the evening, trailing by double digits before narrowing the lead. But Purchase quickly responded on numerous occasions, extending the lead and forcing the Violets to come back once again. Purchase was nearly unstoppable in the first half, outscoring NYU 48-32. Down 18 early in the second half, Purchase kept NYU at bay, leading by as many as 24. At one point, the Violets cut the lead to as few as 11 with several minutes remaining, but it wasn’t enough.

Udine finished with three rebounds and two assists in addition to his solid scoring. Senior guard Joe Timmes dropped 14 points and shot 3-5 from three-point range. First-year forward Ted Georgiadis added 13 points. The Violets’ bench contributed 14 points, compared to Purchase’s 20. Though performance throughout the game was shaky at times, especially in the first half, Udine found a silver lining in his team’s fight and attitude.

“We came out a little slow and it allowed them to get a hot start,” Udine said. “But we fought hard in the second half and I’m proud that we didn’t quit, and [I] think this game would be a great lesson for us going forward.”

The Violets will finish December at their temporary home uptown at the Hunter Sportsplex with four games before the year ends. Next up is the Stevens Institute of Technology, slated for this Saturday at 1 p.m.

Email Michael Thompson at [email protected].