The Violets (12-1, 2-1 UAA) jumped out to a 23-9 lead with 13:18 left in the first half, but the Judges followed with a 23-9 run of their own to tie the contest 32-32 with 1:09 left in the opening stanza. Sophomore Michael Magee connected on two foul shots to give NYU a 34-32 halftime lead.
NYU's lead swelled to 50-43 with 13:33 left in the second half. However, Brandeis tied the game at 52-52 with 10:25 remaining on a three-pointer by Joe Coppens. After two foul shots by senior Jared Kildare gave the Violets a 54-52 lead, the Judges' Huston Conti connected on a three-pointer to give Brandeis its first lead of the contest, 55-54, with 9:51 remaining in the second half.
With the Judges still leading 61-60 with 6:54 left, junior Chael Clark jump-started a 13-5 Violet run to give NYU a 75-66 lead with 1:03 remaining. A three-pointer by Steve DeLuca pulled Brandeis to within three, 78-75, but junior Jason Boone made a free throw with three seconds left to preserve the Violets' win.
Clark, who made his first start of the year, scored a career-high 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Boone added a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while junior Matt Basford added 16 points and junior Michael DeCorso collected 11 points and seven rebounds.
Kildare, who played all 40 minutes, amassed 12 points and six rebounds, and set the NYU record for most assists in a game with 14. Michael Irwin set the old mark of 13 against Brooklyn College on December 7, 2002.
DeLuca paced Brandeis (7-6, 0-3 UAA) with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Joe Coppens registered a career-high 22 points.