WALTHAM, Mass. – For the second year in a row, the Brandeis men's basketball team came from behind to force overtime against their local rivals from Babson, but the visiting Beavers prevailed in the extra session, 86-80.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 0-2.
- Babson, 2-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Brandeis led by as many as nine points in the first half when grad transfer Promise Opurum (New Rochelle, N.Y. / Woodstock Acad. (Conn.)) got a put-back basket with 7:23 left that made it 26-17.
- The visitors answered with a 21-6 run the rest of the way, taking a 38-32 lead into the locker room.
- Babson's Thomas Ferdinando (15 points) and Timmy Mulvey (10 points) scored 25 of their team's 38 points, while Brandeis junior Ryan Weiss (Hewlett, N.Y. / North Broward Prep) and Opurum were the only Judges with more than one basket as seven different Judges contributed.
- A lay-up in the paint by junior Harris Dar (Dallas, Texas / Parish Episcopal School) got Brandeis back within four to open the second half, the Judges never let Babson pull away.
- The Beavers had a couple of seven-point leads midway through the stanza, the latest coming with 8:47 to go after a Theo Lamb bucket made it 63-56.
- Brandeis stayed close, going on a 16-6 run. They eventually tied things up at 69-all with 2:54 on the clock on a 3-pointer by sophomore Gur Dhillon (Frisco, Texas / Brewster Acad., N.H.) and went ahead on a trifecta from first-year Javi Lopez (Lawrence, Mass. / Central Catholic) with just over two minutes remaining.
- Babson's Timmy Mulvey hit a pull-up jumper on the visitors' next possession to make it a one-point game, and after they got a stop, Thomas Ferdinando missed a pair of foul shots.
- The Beavers got the offensive rebound on the second miss, and Ferdinando gave them the 73-72 lead with a put-back.
- Brandeis missed two from the floor on their next possession, but the Beavers hit just one of two from the line, keeping the door open. Brandeis's Dar spun into the lane and hit a pull-up jumper with just over five seconds left to knot the game at 74-74.
- The Judges shot 59 percent from the field in the second half (16-27) to get back in the game, while surviving Babson's 48 shooting (12-25).
- Brandeis couldn't keep up the hot shooting in overtime, however, as they hit just2-of-9 from the field, including all five 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Babson hit 3-of-5, including a key 3-pointer from Logan Murphy that made it a six-point game with 1:48 to go. The Judges could not climb out of that hole despite some good looks from 3-point range.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- This marked the second year in a row Brandeis and Babson have gone to overtime, with the Beavers winning by a similar score last year, 86-82.
- Brandeis was paced in scoring by Weiss and Dhillon, who scored 17 points each.
- Dar had a terrific all-around game with 11 points and eight assists, while first-year Will Hoffmaster (Kensington, N.H. / Concord Acad., Mass.) came off the bench with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- Babson's Ferdinando led all players with 29 points, scoring 14 in the second half and overtime. Mulvey finished with 19 and Lamb and Mulvey each scored 12 for the visitors.
- Babson was able to capitalize on their 13-6 turnover differential to the tune of a 12-2 margin in points off turnovers. That helped offset Brandeis 19-16 edge in second chance points and their 32-18 lead in bench points.
- Babson also outshot Brandeis, 50% (29-58) to 44% (26-59).
- The teams combined for 65 free throws, but made just 41 of them.
UP NEXT
- The Judges will continue their non-conference slate on Saturday at home against Bridgewater State. Tip-off time will be 3:30 p.m.
