NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team saw sophomore guard Jake Bender (Hope, R.I./St, George's School) score a career-high 17 points, but the Judges were unable to overcome #6-ranked NYU, 70-52, in the University Athletic Association opener for both teams. The loss snaps the Judges' eight-game winning streak.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 9-3, 0-1 UAA.
• NYU: 11-1, 1-0 UAA, ranked #6 in D3hoops.com national poll.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The early part of the game featured three ties and four lead changes.
• The Violets were ahead, 16-7, after a Michael Savarino 3-pointer with 12:19 on the clock.
• Brandeis answered with 11 consecutive points, capped by a steal and a lay-up by senior Ryan Power (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) that made it 18-16 with 9:17 to go.
• The Judges were whistled for a technical foul on the ensuing NYU timeout, and it sparked the hosts to close out the half with a 25-10 run, including eight points in a row starting with the tech.
• NYU never trailed again. They took a 41-28 lead into the locker room and scored eight of the first 12 points of the second half. The Violets led by as many as 26 points before the 18-point final margin.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges were led in scoring by Bender, who finished with a career-high 17 points after scoring 10 in the first half. He shot 6-of-11 from the field, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 from the line.
• Sophomore Quron Zene (Windsor, Conn./IMG Academy) added 15 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. He also blocked a career-high three shots.
• Sophomore Ethan Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y./Woodstock Academy) led the Judges with four assists.
• NYU saw three players score in double digits. Graduate student Spencer Freedman matched Bender with 17 points and also dished out seven assists, as he was involved in half of the Violets' 28 field goals.
• Zay Freeney and Emmanuel Onuama each scored 13 points for the hosts.
• Michael Savarino led all players with nine rebounds from his guard position.
• Brandeis was held to their lowest scoring total of the season and were outrebounded (27-40) by their largest margin of the season.
• NYU outscored Brandeis, 44-22 in points in the paint and 19-12 in points off turnovers.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis will continue a three-game road trip to start the UAA season next Friday evening at Carnegie Mellon at 7:30 p.m. NYU will meet Case Western Reserve in a top-25 showdown.