There was a hint of rust early, as the Violets did not score until the 17:46 mark and fell behind 9-5.
However, a 12-0 NYU run late in the first half put the Violets ahead to stay.
"I thought we did a great job defensively right off the bat." said NYU head coach Joe Nesci, whose team took a 34-19 lead into the intermission.
NYU (8-0) scored the first seven points of the second half and extended its lead to as many as 35 points late in the contest.
"We got off to a good offensive start in the second half and then just held the fort," Nesci explained.
A pair of seniors, Daniel Falcon and Jason Boone, recorded double-doubles for the Violets. Falcon finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Boone totaled 14 points and 13 rebounds. Boone also led the team with four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Senior Michael DeCorso added 15 points, while junior Michael Magee came off the bench to score a career-high 14 for the Violets.
Overall, NYU held SUNY-Old Westbury (3-4) to 33.3% shooting (21-63) in the game, including 20.6% (7-34) in the first half.
The Violets out-rebounded the Panthers 54-27.
Kenneth Eusey (12 points) and Ian Johnson (10 points) were the high scorers for SUNY-Old Westbury.
NYU will play the winner of the Baruch College vs. Clark University contest in Saturday's tournament championship game at 4pm.