Box Score WALTHAM, Mass.- Led by a balanced offense that put three players in double-figures, the Brandeis University men's basketball team routed the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans in an University Athletic Association (UAA) contest at Red Auerbach Arena, 87-62. The Judges improve to 11-9 (3-6 UAA) while the Tartans fall to 10-10 (3-6 UAA).
After three early lead changes and a tie, Brandeis grabbed the lead on a 3-pointer from senior guard Ben Bartoldus (Hillsborough, N.H./Proctor Acad.) to make it 7-5 with 15:03 on the clock. That jump-started a 22-6 run over the next seven minutes that would break the contest open. Featuring a barrage of triples, the Judges burst out to a 26-11 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the half. During the scoring spurt, senior guard Ruben Kanya (Ottawa, Ontario/Bridgton Acad, Maine) got the crowd fired up with back-to-back 3-pointers after coming off the bench. Senior guard Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./Brimmer and May School) also added two trifectas during the run.
Despite the large deficit, Carnegie Mellon fought back and went on an extending stretch of their own, rattling off a 19-6 surge that cut the Judges lead to 32-30 with 3:12 left in the period. Still, two lay-ins from rookie guard Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson Acad.) book-ended a pair of free throws by classmate forward Samuel Dowden (Andover, Mass./Andover) as Brandeis went into the break with a 38-32 advantage.
The Judges came out firing in the second half and went on a 12-4 run over the first four minutes to open up a 50-36 lead on a lay-up from senior center Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./St. Andrews School, R.I.). That advantage ballooned to 22 points when sophomore guard Colby Smith (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover) drained a corner 3-pointer with 10:15 remaining in the contest. Brandeis' lead would never dip below 13 points the rest of the way and an 8-0 spurt in the closing minutes gave the Judges their final margin of victory, 87-62.
Brandeis was led by Bartoldus who scored 19 points on an efficient 6-for-9 shooting from the field. Vilmont joined him in double-digits with 15 points while tying for game-high honors with five assists. Retos added 14 points as a reserve, including two 3-pointers. He is now two shy of tying, and three of breaking, the all-time Brandeis record for made 3-pointers. Senior forward Connor Arnold (Andover, Mass./Deerfield Acad.), Dascy, and Vilmont all shared team-high honors with four rebounds. Vilmont swiped a game-high three steals.
The Tartans were paced by two reserves. Junior guard Seth Cordts (Amherst, N.H./Southegan) scored 18 points to go with five boards, three assists, and two steals while senior forward Rob Mohen (Stamford, Conn./Regis, N.Y.) had 15 points, a game-high seven caroms, and three assists. Senior guard Asad Meghani (Carrolton, Texas/Greenhill School) led the squad with four assists.
The Judges continue their season with a home UAA contest against fourth-ranked WashU on Friday February 14th at 8:00 p.m. Carnegie Mellon heads back home for a match-up with UAA opponent Emory on Friday February 14th at 8:00 p.m.
