WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University men's basketball senior Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany/Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin) and sophomore Alex Zakheim (Bergenfield, N.J./Perkiomen, Pa.) combined to score 24 of the team's 37 second-half points this afternoon as the Judges defeated the visiting Emmanuel College Saints, 61-53, in non-conference action in Red Auerbach Arena tonight.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 4-4.
• Emmanuel, 4-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first half was a close affair that saw the lead change hands eight times.
• Brandeis's biggest lead in the first was a six-point advantage on a put-back by graduate student JJ Hayes (Hilton Head, S.C./Hilton Head Prep) with just under nine minutes gone that made it 13-7.
• The Saints responded with a 10-3 run over the next five minutes that put them ahead, 17-16, on a 3-pointer by Aidan Oliveira at the 6:43 mark.
• Brandeis grad student Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) answered with his first basket of the season, and Rodl hit a trifecta after a long scoring drought for both sides to put the Judges up 21-17 with four minutes to go in the half.
• Emmanuel answered with another 10-3 streak, taking a 27-24 lead into the locker room on a late hoop by Mahari Guerrier.
• Guerrier led all players with nine first-half points, while Rodl had seven for the Judges.
• After Brandeis scored the first point of the second stanza, Guerrier's first bucket of the half gave Emmanuel its largest lead of the game, 29-25, at the 18:41 mark.
• Brandeis scored nine of the game's next 10 points, capped by a three-point play by Rodl that made it 34-30 in favor of the Judges, and the hosts never trailed again.
• Emmanuel clawed within two on a Connor Hanavan bucket with 11:13 left in the game that made it 39-37, but Rodl scored the game's next six points to make it a three-possession game with eight minutes to go.
• The Judges never let the visitors get closer than five points the rest of the way, going ahead by as many as 10 points with just under four minutes to go before finishing off the eight-point win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Rodl led all players with 20 points, 13 coming in the second half. He hit 8-of-11 from the field, including 7-of-8 from inside the arc. He also grabbed nine rebounds, just missing out on a double-double.
• Zakheim scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.
• Senior Jake Bender (Hope, R.I./St. George's School) led the way on the glass with 10 rebounds, as the Judges owned a 42-34 advantage.
•  Grad student DJ Courtney (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) added nine points and two steals.
• On a day when the 3-pointers weren't falling (4-24, 17%) for the Judges, they hit 54.5 percent on 2-point shots (18-33). They also outscored Emmanuel, 13-4, from the free-throw line.
• Emmanuel was paced by Guerrier's double-double performance with 15 points and game-high 14 rebounds. He also tied for team- and game-high with three assists.
• Noah Baudet also scored in double digits for the Saints with 11 points.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will play host to the University of New England for the first time ever on Wednesday, December 10, at 7 p.m.