After Brandeis took a 33-32 lead into the break, Babson scored the first six points of the second half to go ahead, 38-33. The Beavers still led by five at 43-38 when the Judges rattled off a 13-0 run that was highlighted by six points from Graves-Fulgham. That gave Brandeis its largest lead of the game, 51-43, with 12:19 to go in regulation.
Babson cut its deficit to two five times in the final four minutes, but the Judges would never relinquish the lead. With the visitors up by seven with just under two minutes to play, Babson senior CJ Enere (Hyde Park, Mass.) hit a driving lay-up and senior tri-captain Dan Elliman (Tewksbury, Mass.) followed with a huge three-pointer to pull the Beavers within a basket at 72-70. Babson then missed a trifecta on its next possession, and Brandeis first-year Florian Rexhepi (Skopte, Macedonia) sank a pair of free throws after being fouled on the rebound to give his team a 74-70 cushion with 22.8 seconds remaining.
After a Brandeis timeout, Elliman hit a lay-up in traffic to cut it to 74-72 with 14.6 seconds on the clock, and Babson immediately fouled first-year Joe Coppens (Rockland, Mass.). The rookie guard then hit both freebies at the other end, pushing the Judges' advantage back to four at 76-72. Babson first-year Kyle McDonald (Wethersfield, Conn.) came right back to hit a pull-up jumper for the Beavers with 7.7 seconds remaining, but Brandeis successfully ran out the clock to clinch the 76-74 victory.
Graves-Fulgham, who led all players with 21 points and six assists, shot 10-for-15 from the floor to pace Brandeis. First-year Steve DeLuca (Merrimack, N.H.) added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while senior tri-captain Bryan Lambert (Auburn, Maine) collected a game-high 12 rebounds.
Babson was led by Elliman, who finished with 17 points, five boards, and three assists while shooting 8-for-13 from the field. Enere added 13 points, seven rebounds, and three helpers, and senior Jeff Nicholson (Methuen, Mass.) scored 13 points, grabbed five boards, and blocked three shots. First-year Greg Bush chipped in with 10 points for Babson, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor.