WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team wrapped up its 2025-26 non-conference schedule today with an impressive 90-79 win over local rivals Lasell University tonight in Red Auerbach Arena.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 7-4.
• Lasell, 5-8.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams played even over the first seven minutes of the game, with the lead changing hands three times and six ties.
• The Lasers took their final lead of the game with 14:03 left in the first half when Esmer Madesko went the length of the court with a defensive rebound to give the visitors a 12-11 lead.
• Brandeis answered with a 7-1 run, getting four points from sophomore Alex Zakheim (Bergenfield, N.J./Perkiomen, Pa.) and a 3-pointer from senior Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany/Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin) to go ahead, 18-13, three minutes later.
• The Judges pushed the lead to eight at the 8:47 mark on a trifecta from sophomore Ryan Weiss (Hewlett, N.Y./North Broward Prep) that made it 23-15, but Lasell nine of the game's next 11 points to climb within 25-24 when Cole Buker hit 1-of-2 from the line.
• Brandeis exploded with a 14-4 run over the next 3:15, thanks to five points from first-year Gur Dhillon (Frisco, Texas/Brewster Acad., N.H.) and four points and an assist from Rodl, whose bucket at the 3:16 mark made it 39-28, Brandeis's largest lead of the stanza.
• Lasell didn't go away, however, as the Lasers scored 10-straight points of their own, getting within 39-38 on a pair of Madesko free throws with 4.2 seconds left. Brandeis grad student DJ Courtney (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) beat the buzzer with a 35-foot 3-pointer to give Brandeis a four-point lead at the break, 42-38.
• The Lasers' Andy and Esmer Madesko hit back-to-back buckets to open the second half and to tie the game at 42-all
• Rodl responded with a four-point play, canning a trifecta from the corner and converting a free throw after getting fouled to put the Judges ahead for good.
• The visitors were still within one at 46-45 with just under three minutes elapsed in the second half when Madesko came out of the game with an injury and was unable to return. After playing all 23 minutes to that point, he did not return.
• Lasell was still within two possessions at 58-54 with 12:47 to go, but Brandeis scored the game's next seven points, capped by an Ali Kaan Bek (Istanbul, Turkey/Koc School) trifecta that extended the Judges' lead back to 11.
• Brandeis maintained at least a three-possession lead the rest of the way, going up by as many as 16 points before the 11-point final margin.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges got 60 of their 90 points from three different players.
• Rodl led all scorers with a career-high 29 points. He hit 12-of-19 overall, 3-of-7 from 3-point range, and 2-of-3 from the line. He was also one of three players to collect a team-high six rebounds.
• Dhillon netted a career-high 19 points off the bench, with an efficient 9-of-13 performance, including one 3-pointer.
• Zakheim added 12 points and finished one assist shy of a double-double with a career-high nine helpers.
• In addition to Rodl, Courtney and grad student Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) each had six rebounds.
• Lasell was led by the Madesko brothers, as Andy finished with a team-high 21 points, playing all but the final 2:45, while Esmer had 13 points and six assists without a turnover in his 23 minutes of action.
• Andy Madesko also had a game-high seven rebounds.
• With turnovers (10-9, Brandeis) and rebounds (34-33, Brandeis) nearly even, the Judges' efficiency was the difference in the game. They outshot Lasell, 52.2% (35-67) to 46.0% (29-63) and had 10 3-pointers to five for the Lasers.

UP NEXT

• The Judges, winners of four in a row and five of their last six, will meet New York University on Saturday at 1 p.m. in their University Athletic Association opener.