WALTHAM, Mass. - Brandeis University junior guard Kenny
Small (Stratford, Conn./ Stratford) scored a career-high
18 points tonight as one of three Judges to score in double figures
in a 65-54 victory over visiting Emory in a University Athletic
Association contest. The Judges improve to 15-8, 8-4 in the UAA
with the win, while Emory falls to 6-1, 1-11 UAA.
Small scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half and reached
his career benchmark with a breakaway dunk in the final minute of
the contest. He was joined in double figures by senior
Kevin Olson (Rockport, Mass./Rockport), who
finished with 16 points, and graduate student Steve
DeLuca (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) who had 11 points and a
team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Andre Roberson (Springfield,
Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) tied for game-high honors with four
assists.
The key to the game for the Judges was free-throw shooting and
turnovers. The Judges - who rank 18th among Division III's leaders
in fewest fouls committed - got to the line 33 times compared to
nine for Emory, leading to a 28-8 scoring margin from the charity
stripe. The Judges forced 19 turnovers while committing just 10,
outscoring the Eagles, 27-5, in points off miscues.
Emory was paced by junior Chad Hixon (Snellville, Ga./Berkmar),
who had 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for his second
double-double of the season. The Eagles' bench, which outscored
Brandeis by a 34-10 margin, produced three players with eight
points each: junior Dan Curtin (Great Barrington, Mass./Deerfield
Acad.), sophomore Julien Williams (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep)
and junior Anthony Fernandez (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit). Williams
also finished with seven boards, helping the Eagles to a 33-29 edge
on the glass. The visitors also outshot Brandeis from the field,
42.0% to 34.7%, and held the nation's top 3-point shooting attack
(44.6 percent) to a season-low 3-for-17 from beyond the arc
(17.6%), but were unable to overcome the disadvantage at the line
and because of turnovers.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that featured five
ties and eight lead changes. Brandeis scored the first six points
of the contest as Small was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit all three
foul shots, followed by an Olson trifecta - the Judges' only make
from deep in 10 tries in the first. The Eagles answered with nine
of the next 11 points, taking their first lead at 9-8 on a Curtin
jumper just over 6:30 into the game.
After trading leads for the next eight minutes, the Eagles
rattled off a 6-1 run to take their biggest lead, 25-20, on an Alex
Gulotta (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff) trifecta with 3:42 left
before the break. The Judges answered with 10 of the final 13
points of the stanza, as Small connected on two free throws with 19
seconds left to five the hosts a 30-28 lead at the intermission.
Small led all players with 10 points in the first, while five
different Emory players had either four or six points. Brandeis hit
11-of-13 from the line, while Emory was 3-of-4.
Brandeis led for the entire second half. Emory got within
one at 38-37 on a tradition three-point play by Hixon with 14:51
remaining, but the Judges answered with the game's next seven
points. Olson got the ball rolling with a hoop and a foul of his
own on a nice feed from junior forward Terrell
Hollins (Springfield, Mass./ Longmeadow). Olson returned
the favor to Hollins on the next possession, followed by a
fast-break lay-up from Roberson to Small that pushed the lead to
45-37 with 13:34 remaining. The Judges got the lead to 12 points at
53-41 midway through the period by converting three-of-four from
the line after a bench technical on the Eagles, and were able to
stay at least nine points ahead the rest of the way.
The Judges close out the home portion of their schedule on
Sunday afternoon when they host Case Western Reserve at noon for
another UAA contest.
BOX
SCORE
