Brandeis University

WALTHAM, Mass. – Four different players scored in double figures tonight as the Brandeis men's basketball team rode a hot-shooting first half to an 86-77 non-conference victory over UMass Dartmouth to start the 2023-24 season in Red Auerbach Arena tonight.


TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 1-0.
• UMass Dartmouth: 0-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams shot the ball well in the first 20 minutes, but Brandeis was especially on fire, hitting 61.3% from the field (19-31) and 54.5% from 3-point range (6-11).
• UMD was around 50 percent for the stanza as well until a late cold stretch saw them fall to 44.1% overall (15-34) and 44.4% from deep (4-9).
• Brandeis pushed their lead to as many as 12 points late in the first half at 49-37 on a 3-pointer by senior Ryan Power (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) before the Corsairs scored the final four points to close within 49-41 at the break.
• Power had 10 points in the opening half, while junior Toby Harris (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) and sophomore Ethan Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y./Woodstock Academy) – back after missing the last third of his rookie season to injury – had eight each.
• UMD got 12 points from Isaac Percy and 11 points and seven rebounds from Michael Eurquhart Jr.
• Brandeis never relinquished the lead in the second half. They led by as many as 15 points at 64-49 when Power hit a lay-up with 11:32 to go in the game.
• The lead bounced between nine and 11 points for the next six minutes before  UMass Dartmouth's Jackson Zancan dialed long distance with 5:32 remaining to make it a five-point game at 73-68. The Judges responded by hitting their next five foul shots to get the lead back to double figures and they saw the game out from there.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Power's team-high 17 points were one shy of his career-best. He hit 6-of-10 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 from the line. Power also grabbed six rebounds and led the Judges with three steals and tied for the team lead with four assists.
• Edwards added 16 points, two boards and two steals in his first game back from injury.
• Harris and sophomore Jake Bender (Hope, R.I./St. George's School) added 12 points each. Bender's was a career-high and included steal and a dunk on the game's opening play.
• Harris led the Judges with seven rebounds and matched Power with four assists.
• Three other Brandeis players had three assists as the Judges finished with 20 helpers on their 29 baskets.
• The Judges finished the game shooting 50% from the field (29-58), while holding UMD to 42.2% (27-46).
• The Corsairs also had four players score in double digits, led by Isaac Percy's 30-point, 13-rebound double-double. Michael Eurquhart Jr. added 14 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.
• Josh Lopes and Nic Boyd each had 10 points, but the other four players on the Corsairs' roster who played had just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
• Lopes led all players with five assists.
• The Corsairs won the battle of the boards, 41-32.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis plays its next three games on the road, starting next Saturday afternoon at Rivier College in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.