NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Brandeis University men's basketball team shot just 34.8 percent from the floor (16-46), a season-low against Division III opposition, while allowing a season-high 60.4 percent (32-53) as the Judges dropped a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest to the host New York University Violets in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Brandeis (14-11, 7-7 UAA) looked like they could complete the season sweep in the early going, hitting five of their first six shots, including three 3-pointers, to take a 13-4 lead just three minutes intot the contest. NYU (16-9, 6-8 UAA) answered with a 12-0 run of their own over the next five minutes, taking their first lead on a Jimmy Janeczek 3-pointer at the 13:29 mark. The Judges' ensuing 9-2 run gave the visitors a 22-18 lead on a penetration lay-up by rookie guard Kwame Grave-Fulgham (Amherst, Mass.) with 11:56 remaining. The Violets then went on another hot streak, hitting six straight buckets, with another Janaczek trifecta putting them ahead 32-24 with 7:10 left.
NYU extended the run to take a 47-34 lead into the break, with Bobby Serafin's lay-in at the buzzer providing the final points of the first half. Grave-Fulgham and Janaczek each had 12 points to lead all players at the intermission. Jason Boone and Daniel Falcon also had 10 for the Violets, who outshot Brandeis 67 percent to 48 percent. The Judges came out cold in the second half, missing nine-of-10 from the floor and committing three turnovers in the first eight-plus minutes as NYU outscored the Judges 14-2 over that span to take a 61-36 lead that never fell below 20 points again. Brandeis ended up shooting just 19 percent from the floor in the second (4-21).
Graves-Fulgham led Brandeis with 14 points, but scored only two after intermission. Senior center Bryan Lambert (Auburn, Maine) scored eight points to finish the regular season with exactly 1,500 points. Rookie reserve center Jake Kaplan (Cave Springs, Va.) led the Judges with five rebounds off the bench.
NYU placed four players in double figures. Janaczek tallied a game-high 15 points on five-of-six shooting from beyond the arc and dished a game-high four assists. Falcon finished with 13 points on six-of-eight, while Boone had 12 points on five-of-seven from the floor. Bobby Serafin just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. He led the Violets to a 32-22 advantage on the boards.