WALTHAM, Mass. – The visiting University of Chicago men's basketball team missed just six shots from the field in the second half connecting on 71% (15-21) as the Maroons pulled away from the Brandeis University Judges, 72-55, in University Athletic Association action tonight in Red Auerbach Arena.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis: 10-5, 1-3 UAA.
- Chicago: 10-5, 3-1 UAA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first half was a defensive contest that featured five ties and two lead changes.
- Chicago led by four on several occasions, but Brandeis tied the game at 22 with 3:08 to go in the stanza after two Ryan Power (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) free throws.
- UC answered by making their next two baskets from 3-point range, but Brandeis sophomore Quron Zene (Windsor, Conn./IMG Academy) dialed long distance on the last possession of the half to make it 28-25 in favor of the visitors at the break.
- Brandeis junior Gilbert Otoo (Burtonsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) kept Brandeis in the game in the first half with 12 points in 19 minutes.
- UC was nearly perfect shooting over the first 12 minutes of the second half, hitting 10 of their first 12 shots from the field. They were ahead by as many as 17 points in the early going as they outscored Brandeis, 21-7, over the first 10 minutes.
- Brandeis was able to claw within nine on a Sam Adusei (Worcester, Mass./St. George's School) 3-pointer with 6:03 remaining that made it 59-50, but Chicago answered with a lay-up on the other end and the Maroons never let the lead dip below double digits again.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Adusei finished with a game-high 17 points, 11 coming in the second half. He made four 3-pointers, matching a season- and career-high. He also led the Judges with six rebounds.
- Otoo finished with 15 points and five boards, while Zene had 13 points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in 15 minutes off the bench. The trio accounted for 45 of the team's 55 points.
- Senior Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) scored just two points, but he led the team with five assists and added four rebounds and a game-high three steals.
- Chicago got 14 points from Bryce Hopkins, 13 from Joe Berry and 11 from Arrish Bhandai.
- Bhandai had a game-high eight rebounds, while Phillip Lawrence had five assists off the bench.
- The Maroons shot 57% (26-46) from the field for the game, including their hot second half. They held Brandeis to just 31% (18-59), including 24% (8-34) on 2-point shots for the game.
- UC owned the inside, outrebounding Brandeis, 35-31, and outscoring the Judges, 36-14, in points in the paint. The Maroons also had 20 assists on their 26 baskets.
UP NEXT
- Brandeis plays host to #14 Washington University on Sunday at noon, while Chicago is at #13 NYU at the same time. NYU edged WashU tonight, 65-64, in the only UAA contest won by a home team.