WALTHAM, Mass. - The nationally-ranked Brandeis University men's
basketball team used a 29-4 run that bridged halftime to overcome a
10-point deficit and pull away for an 81-57 victory against Bates
College on Tuesday evening in Red Auerbach Arena. The Judges, who
are ranked 20th nationally by D3hoops.com, improved to
9-2. The Bobcats, who had lost four times by eight points or less,
slipped to 6-6.
Sophomore forward/guard Vytas Kriskus (Kvedarna,
Lithuania/Holderness School) led the Judges with 19 points
off the bench, while senior guard Kenny Small (Stratford,
Conn./Stratford) and sophomore guard Tyrone Hughes
(Dorchester, Mass./Taft School) added 16 points apiece.
Small went 10-of-11 on free-throw tries, while Hughes set a career
high in scoring and provided seven assists and four steals. Senior
guard Andre Roberson (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham &
Monson Academy) totaled 10 points, while junior forward
Christian Yemga (Yaounde, Cameroon/Proctor
Academy) completed a balanced scoring effort with eight
points and six caroms. Senior forward Terrell Hollins
(Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) hauled down seven boards
for Brandeis, which committed only nine turnovers while forcing 23
and picking up 10 steals.
Junior forward Brian Ellis (Braintree,
Mass./Braintree) paced the Bobcats with 18 points, going
7-of-11 at the charity stripe, and six rebounds, while junior
forward Nick Schmiemann (Weymouth, Mass./Boston College
High) tallied 13 points. After shooting 63.2 percent in
the opening half, Bates hit on 34.8-percent of its second-period
attempts.
The visitors jumped on top quickly, as an Ellis hoop nine
seconds into the contest gave the Bobcats the lead, and
68.8-percent shooting - an 11-of-16 effort - helped them push their
advantage to as many as 10, at 29-19, when Ellis canned a pair of
freebies with 5:12 remaining in the half.
Brandeis quickly regrouped, as Kriskus scored five points and
Small four during an 11-0 run, which Small capped with a steal and
breakaway lay-up that made it 30-29 at 2:30 and gave the Judges
their first lead. During the run, which took only 2:20 to elapse,
Brandeis held Bates without a shot and forced five turnovers.
Schmiemann's offensive board and put-back at 2:05 briefly put
the visitors back on top, but Hollins' pair of free throws 14
seconds later gave Brandeis the lead for good during a 29-4 run
that ended on a Hughes bucket with 15:14 left in regulation, making
the score 48-33. The Judges eventually led by as many as 27.
The Judges head back into University Athletic Association (UAA)
play with a two-game Midwest road trip this weekend, beginning by
squaring off with No. 3 Washington (Mo.) University, the two-time
defending national champion, on Friday at 9 p.m. EST. Bates
continues a 10-game road swing at No. 10 Middlebury College on
Friday at 8 p.m.
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SCORE
