Brandeis (7-18, 3-11 UAA) got another heroic effort from Lambert, who scored more than 30 points for the third game in a row. He also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to give him his 11th double-double in the last 12 games and his 13th overall this season. Lambert hit 14-of-22 overall from the floor, including eight-of-10 from beyond the arc. His eight trifectas matched a school record set by Mike McGlynn in 2000.
The Judges had four other players score in double figures, with junior guard Omri Ayalon (Potsdam, N.Y.) and senior forward Tim Deihl (Cumberland, Maine) each contributing 12 points and senior forward Ben Bosanac (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) adding 11. The fifth starter, senior guard Greg Kristof (Medfield, Mass.) had four points in his final game at home, but the Judges did not get any help from the bench, which was shut out on the day.
NYU (19-6, 8-6 UAA) put five players in double figures, paced by rookie guard Michael DeCorso’s (Freehold, N.J.) 17 points off the bench. DeCorso also tied for team-high honors with nine rebounds. Classmate and starting center Jason Boone (Sugar Loaf, N.Y.), a top candidate for UAA Rookie of the Year honors, added 16 points, five boards and three blocked shots. Sophomore guard Jared Kildare (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) had 15 points, including a team-high three 3-pointers, while junior forward Jeff Gilkerson (Clarks Summit, Pa.) and sophomore guard James Janacek (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) each poured in 10 points. Violet junior guard Jason Bayuk (White Plains, N.Y.) dished out a game-high six assists.
The first half of the game was tightly contests, featuring 12 lead changes and five ties. NYU’s four-point lead, 20-16, midway through the stanza on DeCorso’s lay-up was the largest margin for either team in the first. Brandeis looked to take the lead into the locker room, however, when Ayalon hit on a feed from Lambert o put the Judges up 29-27 with 1:20 on the clock. The Violets answered in the final minute as Boone hit one lay-up on a series of nice post moves and then put back an offensive rebound of Janacek’s missed trifecta as time expired in the half to give NYU a 31-29 lead at the break.
Brandeis opened the second half on an 8-5 run thanks to a pair of Lambert trifectas and a lay-up by Deihl going coast-to-coast that gave the Judges a 37-36 lead at the 17:41 mark. Janacek answered with a 3-pointer that sparked a 7-1 run over the next three minutes, putting the Violets up 44-38 on a Gilkerson lay-up. Brandeis got back within one, 46-45, but a 10-3 NYU run gave the Violets their biggest lead of the game, 56-48, on DeCorso’s three-ball with 10:21 on the clock. Bosanac answered with a trifecta from the corner, but Boone hit a tradition three-point play moments later to give the Violets a 59-51 lead with 9:19 to go.
Brandeis again cut the lead to one on Lambert’s steal and lay-up two minutes later that made the score 61-60, and a pair of Ayalon free throws with 5:12 on the clock capped a 14-5 run that tied the game at 65-65 with just over five minutes remaining. The teams traded the next two buckets before DeCorso hit a pair of free throws with 4:21 left. Deihl answered with his only 3-pointer of the game to give the hosts their second lead of the half. NYU scored four in a row, to go back up by three, but Brandeis answered again, hitting four in a row from the line to take a 74-73 lead with 2:51 to go. DeCorso answered with a tip-in, followed by buckets from Kildare and another offensive rebound by Gilkerson to give the Violets a 79-74 lead with 1:10 on the clock.
The Judges called a timeout and answered just 10 seconds later with Lambert’s final trifecta of the game. As the shot clock ran down on NYU’s next possession, Kildare went in for a lay-up and got blocked by Lambert. The Judges’ Scott Green (Dallas, Texas) took in the rebound on the baseline. Brandeis pushed the ball up the floor with the shot clock off and got the ball into Ayalon’s hands. The junior drove the lane and put up a floater that bounced twice on the rim before falling off to the side. DeCorso grabbed the rebound and hit the ensuing free throws to clinch the game with eight seconds to go.
NYU outscored Brandeis 26-8 in the paint, but the Judges had a 33-15 advantage from beyond the arc. The Violet’s bench strength, outscoring Brandeis, 23-0, was also a key factor.
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