WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team, the top 3-pointer shooting team in Division III, struggled to find their range in the first half as they fell behind early and could not catch up in an 87-72 defeat at the hands of 16
th-ranked Tufts University today.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 7-2.
- Tufts, 9-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Judges, who entered the game shooting a Division III-leading 45.1 percent from 3-point range for the season, missed their first 11 shots from beyond the arc in the first half.
- Brandeis was ranked seventh nationally with a 51.2 field goal percentage entering the contest, but were held to 35.3% (12-34) before the break.
- Tufts shot 46.9% (15-32) overall and 25% (2-8) from 3-point range as they established a lead as large as 14 points at 37-23.
- The Judges closed the stanza on an 8-2 run to close within 39-31 at the break.
- Brandeis senior Sam Adusei (Worcester, Mass./St. George's School) led the visitors with eight points, while Tufts' James Morakis had 16 points at the break to lead all players.
- While the Judges connected on their first 3-pointer to open the second half, from grad student Jai Deshpande (San Carlos, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep), Tufts hit four of their first five from beyond the arc to reestablish their 14-point lead on a Dylan Reilly trifecta that made it 53-39 with 16:33 left.
- The Jumbos would lead by as many as 26 points in the second half before a late run by the Brandeis reserves got them within the 15-point final margin.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Junior Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany/Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin) led the Judges with 19 points, 16 coming in the second half. After a cool first period, he hit 6-of-8 overall and 4-of-5 from downtown in the second.
- Deshpande added 11 points, nine after the break.
- Adusei and grad student Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) tied for team-high honors with six rebounds each, while first-year Alex Zakheim (Bergenfield, N.J./Perkiomen, Pa.) led the squad with three assists.
- After their slow start, Brandeis shot 45.5% (15-33) from the field in the second, including 50% from beyond the arc (8-16), finishing at 40.3% (27-67) and 29.6% (8-27), respectively.
- Unfortunately, Tufts also improved its shooting in the second half, hitting 53.3% (16-30) overall and 75% from downtown (9-12), finishing at 50% overall (31-62) and 55% from deep (11-20).
- The Jumbos were led by Morakis's game-high 24 points and 22 from Reilly. Jon Medley added 10 points.
- Scott Gymesi led all players with seven rebounds and five assists.
- The Jumbos controlled the boards, 46-28, while Brandeis won the turnover battle, 11-5.
UP NEXT
- The Judges are off until just before New Years, taking on #21 Middlebury on Dec. 30. It will be the second-straight ranked opponent the Judges will face on the road.