Now that’s how you start a conference race. 

Derek Retos beat the buzzer with a running three pointer to lift No. 14 Brandeis to a 61-59 win over NYU. Brandeis closed the game on a 23-3 run to remain undefeated (10-0) and give the Violets (10-1) their first loss of the season.

• Saturday's men's scoreboard
• Saturday's women's scoreboard
• Recap of Wooster/Wabash and Amherst/Williams showdowns

NYU appeared to control the game with a 56-38 lead midway through the second half but the Violets wouldn’t make another field goal the rest of the way (0-for-10). Full story

Meanwhile Ruben Kanya scored nine points over that same stretch to help pull Brandeis within one. With 13 seconds left the Violets missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Judges grabbed the rebound. The teams combined to call three timeouts before Brandeis inbounded the ball to Retos for his dramatic game-winner. It was Brandeis’ only lead of the game.

No. 22 Plattsburgh State must have lost a little something during its 31 days off between games, because the Cardinals have lost three out of four since the layoff ended, including a 75-65 home setback against Brockport State. Kyheem Green posted a double-double for the 4-6 Golden Eagles, shooting 7-for-9 from the floor en route to 18 points and 12 rebounds.

No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan fought off Washington and Lee 71-61, giving the Marlins their best start in program history. They are 14-0 and sit atop the ODAC at 5-0, a half game in front of No. 11 Randolph-Macon who rolled over Bridgewater (Va.) 75-49.

Tyler Nicolai buried another big shot for No. 5 St. Thomas as he hit a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left to get the Tommies into overtime. He finished with 16 in the Tommies' 68-64 home win against Gustavus Adolphus, their 24th consecutive regular-season victory. Heidelberg handed Marietta its first loss of the season, defeating the No. 24 Pioneers 81-77 to improve to 6-7. No. 15 UW-River Falls ended a game of runs with an 11-2 streak in overtime to pick up a key road WIAC win, 85-79 at UW-Whitewater.

The CCIW is already down to one undefeated team after the first week of conference play and it's No. 9 Augustana. The Vikings took care of Elmhurst 67-45. Wheaton (Ill.) fell at North Central (Ill.) 83-75 and Carthage led No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan from tip to finish in the Red Men's 73-52 victory.

Outside the Top 25, Mary Washington grabbed first place for now in the Capital Athletic Conference with a win at York (Pa.) 83-74. The Eagles are a half game in front of No. 12 St. Mary’s (Md.) whose game with Wesley was postponed by snow. Mary Washington will host St. Mary’s (Md.) on Wednesday night. Delaware Valley is the unlikely leader in the MAC Freedom race early in the season. The Aggies handled Misericordia 77-69 while Eastern and Manhattanville each picked up their first conference loss to DeSales and Wilkes respectively.

Haverford won its fifth game in six tries, this time tipping Dickinson 67-65. Bo Friddell scored the game winner for the Fords with six seconds left. Nate Jennings hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to push Olivet past Adrian 53-51. Anderson broke open a tight game with an 11-0 run late in the second half and hung on for a 69-58 win over Transylvania. Ithaca capped a great week by beating last year's Empire 8 champion St. John Fisher 102-95.