NEW YORK, N.Y - The Brandeis University men's basketball team
saw winning streaks of six games overall and seven in a row against
rival NYU today as the Judges dropped their University Athletic
Association (UAA) opener, 62-50, at the Coles Sports Center. The
Judges, ranked eighth in the nation by D3hoops.com, shot
season-lows 24.6 percent from the floor and 14.8 percent from
3-point range against the Violets.
Brandeis (8-2, 0-1 UAA) connected on just 15-of-61 from the
field and 4-of-27 from beyond the arc as they scored a season low
in points. Senior Terrell Hollins (Springfield,
Mass./Longmeadow) led the Judges with 14 points, hitting 6-of-8
from the field, but only one other Brandeis player had more than
two field goals. Sophomore Vytas Kriskus
(Kvedarna, Lithuania/Holderness School) hit just four of his 12
attempts, including just one-of-eight from downtown for nine
points, while senior Kenny Small (Stratford,
Conn./Stratford) reached double figures with 12 points, but
connected on just 2-of-15 overall and 2-of-10 from range. He used
6-of-7 from the line to get to double figures. Senior guard
Andre Roberson (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham and
Monson Acad.) led the Judges with seven rebounds, one shy of a
career-high, a game- and career-high five steals and three assists.
Brandeis was able to keep the hosts from pulling away by winning
the turnover battle, 21-9, turning that into an 18-6 edge in points
off those miscues.
NYU (9-2, 1-0 UAA) won its sixth in a row thanks to the play of
big men Keith Jensen and Richie Polan. Jensen had a game-high 16
points, nine of which came after the intermission, while Polan had
15 points - 13 in the first half - and a game-high 13 rebounds off
the bench. He also led the Violets with four assists. New York
connected on 51.4% overall for the game (19-for-37), including
59.1% in the first half (13-22) as they built a 34-24 advantage
before the break. Their big first half was buoyed by a 20-11 edge
on the glass, though Brandeis won the battle of the boards in the
second, 21-19.
Brandeis jumped out to an early 9-5 lead, and were ahead, 11-10,
on a pair of Tyrone Hughes (Dorchester, Mass./Taft
School) free throws with 13:55 left before intermission. The Judges
hit just two of their next seven shots, however, while the Violets
connected on seven of their next eight, including four 3-pointers,
to go on an 18-4 run over a six-minute stretch. Jensen had 10 of
NYU's points, including the trifecta at the 13:37 mark that gave
them the lead for good Watertown, Mass., native Kyle Stockmal's
long ball at the 8:13 mark capped the run with the hosts ahead,
28-15.
Brandeis bounced back with a mini-run, scoring six in a row, but
the Violets closed the half with a 34-24 lead. The Judges opened
the second stanza by scoring seven of the first 10 points, as a
Hughes trifecta from the corner got the Judges within six at 37-31
with just over three minutes gone. NYU senior Omar Meziab answered
with a traditional three-point play, and the Judges could only get
closer than seven the rest of the way.
