WALTHAM, Mass. - Senior Mike Chmielowiec (Batavia,
N.Y./Batavia), the leading scorer in the University Athletic
Association, tallied 15 of his game-high 25 points in the first
half to lead the visiting University of Rochester Yellowjackets
past host Brandeis University, 73-69, in the Judges' UAA opener
tonight in Red Auerbach Arena. UR improves to 8-2, 1-1 UAA, with
the win, while Brandeis falls to 6-5, 0-1 UAA.
Brandeis owned a 22-16 lead with 7:15 left in the first half
when Rochester when on a tear, outscoring the Judges 19-7 the rest
of the way. The 'Jackets hit six of their last seven shots, while
Brandeis hit just three of 10 over that stretch, giving the
visitors a 35-29 lead at the break on a late bucket by rookie Nate
Novosel (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic).
Chmielowiec tallied 15 points in the first half on 5-of-8 from
the field, 3-of-4 from downtown and a pair of free throws, while
Novosel added eight points, six coming in the late run that gave
Rochester the lead. Junior Kenny Small (Stratford,
Conn./Stratford) led Brandeis with 10 points off the bench, hitting
4-of-7 from the field with a pair of trifectas.
Brandeis opened the second half with a nice spurt, scoring nine
of the first 11 points to reclaim the lead on a Terrell
Hollins (Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) lay-up.
Chmielowiec answered with a trifecta, setting off a Rochester
barrage in which they connected from downtown on four of their next
five possessions. A John Charlesworth (Cary, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons)
deep ball with 12:41 gave the Yellowjackets a 49-40 lead, while
senior Max Kaplan (Chicago, Ill./St. Ignatius Prep) connected from
deep just about midway through the stanza to give the visitors a
56-43 lead.
The Judges didn't let the lead get out of hand, and were still
within nine points, 69-60, with 3:00 left in the contest following
a Chmielowiec put-back. They held Rochester without a field goal
the rest of the way and climbed within three on a Small trifecta
with 30 seconds left. Chmielowiec hit his next two foul shots, and
Brandeis junior Andre Roberson (Springfield,
Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) connected from the corner with 1.9
seconds left to get within 71-69, but Chmielowiec was able to get
the final inbounds pass and hit from the line for the four-point
final.
Both teams shot the lights out tonight, connecting on better
than 50 percent of their shots. Rochester hit 56.1 percent (23-41),
while Brandeis connected on 51.7 percent (30-58). The big shooting
difference came in long distance and free throw shooting. Rochester
connected on a season-best 11 3-pointers at a 64.7% clip (11-17),
while Brandeis hit just 36.4% (8-22) from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Rochester went to the charity stripe 20 times, compared
to just three free throws for Brandeis, giving the Yellowjackets a
16-1 scoring advantage from the stripe.
Chmielowiec finished shooting 7-of-13, 4-of-6 from deep and
7-of-8 from the line to earn his game-high honors. Sophomore Marcus
Roberson (Howell, N.J./Freehold Township) added 11 points, eight in
the second half, while Novosel had 10 points and a game-high six
rebounds. Kaplan finished with seven assists to lead all players.
Small matched his career-high with 15 points, connecting on
6-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-6 from deep. Grad student
Steve DeLuca (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) added 12
points and Andre Roberson had 11 for the Judges. Hollins, DeLuca
and sophomore Christian Yemga (Yaounde,
Cameroon/Proctor Acad.) tied for team-high honors with five
rebounds, while Roberson and Hollins each had four assists.
Brandeis is next in action on Sunday afternoon at noon when they
take on 14th-ranked Carnegie Mellon in UAA action, while
Rochester head to NYU for a conference matchup at the same time.
BOX
SCORE
