Senior Michael DeCorso tallied a game-high 18 points while senior Jason Boone contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Violets (19-6, 8-6 UAA), who must now await word of their postseason fate Sunday night when the field of 59 teams for the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship is announced at 10 pm.
Freshman Andre Roberson scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half for Brandeis (19-6, 9-5 UAA), which overcame a 34-26 halftime deficit to boost its hopes of earning an at-large NCAA invitation. Junior Kwame Graves-Fulgham added 15 points and seven boards for the Judges, while sophomore Kevin Olson notched all 12 of his tallies in the final 20 minutes.
Before taking control down the stretch, neither NYU nor Brandeis could get any breathing room before the game’s turning point occurred.
NYU junior Charlie Parker (10 points) hit a fast-break lay-up to give his team a 53-50 advantage with 7:36 remaining. However, Boone was whistled for a technical for hanging on the rim after trying to follow up Parker’s bucket, which rolled off the rim before sliding through the cylinder.
From there, the Judges went on an 11-1 run as Olson scored four of his points to seize a 61-54 lead 5:04 remaining.
Just as importantly, Brandeis went 34-41 from the free-throw line in the game, including 27-33 (81.8%) in the second half as NYU suffered from foul trouble down the stretch.
Conversely, the Violets went 25-36 (69.4%) from the foul line – and were held without a field goal for a stretch of 7:03, scoring 11 of their final 17 points from the charity stripe over the final 7:36.
Overall, NYU shot 40.4% (19-47), but just 22.2% (4-18) from beyond the three-point arc. Brandeis hit 39.6% (19-47) of its tries and was also just 22.2% (4-18) from long distance.
Prior to the game, the Violets honored its five seniors: Boone, DeCorso, Matt Basford, Chael Clark, and Daniel Falcon.