The New York University men's basketball team finished its 2018-19 season with a 53-51 victory over Brandeis University in a University Athletic Association (UAA) game on Saturday, February 23, at the Sportsplex in Manhattan.

The Violets (8-17, 2-12) snapped a three-game losing streak while handing Brandeis (14-11, 7-7) its second straight defeat.

NYU scored the first six points of the game and never trailed. The Violets expanded their lead to a game-high nine points on two occasions before settling for a 28-24 advantage at halftime. 

The Violets' second-half lead fluctuated between four and seven points until Brandeis' Lawrence Sabir hit a layup with 5:15 remaining to bring the Judges within three, 45-42.

NYU responded by scoring the next five points. But, the Judges refused to go away. With 27 seconds left in the game, Chandler Jones' free throw brought Brandeis within two points, 50-48.

Jule Brown followed with a pair of free throws for NYU, but Eric D'Aguanno's three-pointer pulled the Judges within one point.

Jimmy Martinelli hit a free throw with 13 seconds left, and the Violets held on when Jones missed a potential game-tying layup in the waning seconds.

"The guys gave everything that had every day throughout the season and that's all we could ask of them," said Head Coach Dagan Nelson. "We deserved the outcome and we're really excited about the future of the program."

Brown, who was honored before the game as the Violets' only senior, finished with 10 points. Dom Cristiano led NYU with 15 points while adding nine rebounds. Bobby Hawkinson collected a team-high 10 boards for the Violets.

"Jule made two huge free throws and defensively impacted the game in a really positive way for us," Nelson added. "He brought to our program an ability to defend multiple positions. And, he was thrust into a role of having to play the point guard position and did an outstanding job."

Collin Sawyer led Brandeis with 16 points.