ATLANTA, Ga. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team got a terrific bench performance from first-year Gur Dhillon (Frisco, Texas / Brewster Acad., N.H.) and starter Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany / Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin), but the Judges couldn't hang on down the stretch as they fell to #5-ranked Emory, 71-64, in a University Athletic Association contest tonight.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 13-8, 6-4 UAA.
• Emory, 17-3, 7-3 UAA, ranked #5 in Division III by D3hoops.com.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first half between the Judges and Eagles was a tight affair, featuring six ties and nine lead changes.
• The largest lead held by either team in the first was four points both ways.
• Brandeis saw Dhillon score their final six points of the stanza as they took a 32-30 lead into the break.
• Rodl had 13 points and Dhillon added 10 in the first as they combined to make 11 of their 13 shots as Brandeis connected on 57.7 percent from the field as a team (15-26). Emory's  AJ Harris had nine points and Ethan Fauss had eight to lead the hosts.
• The second half was just as close, with seven more ties and five lead changes over the first 10 minutes.
• Emory had a five-point lead when Jair Knight scored off a Brandeis turnover to make it 46-41 at the 14:13 mark.
• Brandeis responded with a 10-4 run over the next three-plus minutes, going ahead 51-50 when Rodl connected from downtown with 11:03 on the clock.
• Knight responded from long distance on the Eagles' next possession, and the Eagles never trailed again.
• Brandeis was able to tie things up at the 9:22 mark on a bucket by sophomore Alex Zakheim (Bergenfield, N.J./Perkiomen, Pa.), but Harris answered with a trifecta, sparking a key 9-2 Emory run that put them ahead, 62-55, with just under six minutes to go.
• The Judges were able to get back within four with the ball in their hands twice in the final two minutes, but Emory came up with stops and enough made free throws to close out the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Rodl finished with 22 points on 8-of-12 overall, 3-of-4 from deep and 3-of-4 from the line. He also led the Judges with seven rebounds.
• Dhillon finished with 18 points one shy of his career-best, hitting 9-of-11 from the floor. He and the Brandeis reserves outscored Emory's bench, 23-4.
• Zakheim also reached double figures with 15 points while dishing out a team-high four assists.
• The Judges outshot Emory, 50% (28-56) to 40% (23-58), and outrebounded the Eagles, 35-30.
• Emory's Ben Pearce scored 21 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, while Knight had 10 of his 16 in the second 20 minutes.
• The Eagles were able to take advantage of the Judges' miscues to help clinch the victory, winning the turnover battle, 21-12, and outscoring Brandeis, 25-12, on those errors.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will travel to the University of Rochester on Sunday for a 2 p.m. start.