WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team had a one-point lead on the #6-ranked University of Chicago with 2:14 left in the contest, but the Maroons pulled away by scoring the game's last seven points to take a 77-71 University Athletic Association victory in Red Auerbach Arena this evening.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 13-10, 6-6 UAA.
• Chicago, 20-3, 10-2 UAA, ranked #6 in Division III by D3hoops.com

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams shot the ball well in the first half, with the Judges connecting on 55.2% (16-29) from the field and Chicago hitting 50% (12-24).
• The largest lead for either team was a six-point advantage by UC after grad student Shane Regan hit a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 17-11 lead with 10:46 left.
• Brandeis responded nine of the game's next 11 points to take a 20-19 advantage on a turn-around jumper in the paint by senior Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin) 2:06 later.
• The Maroons built their lead back to six on another Regan trifecta with 4:08 to go, that made it 33-27
• Brandeis scored the final 10 points of the stanza, including the last eight by sophomore Alex Zakheim (Bergenfield, N.J./Perkiomen, Pa.) that gave the Judges a 37-33 lead at the break.
• Regan led all players with 17 points in the first half, while Zakheim had 12 and Rodl 11.
• The second half saw three ties and seven lead changes, with Chicago opening the stanza on a 15-2 run to take a 48-39 lead with four different players contributing points.
• A Noah Pit 3-pointer with 13:14 on the clock gave the Maroons their largest lead of the game, 53-43.
• Brandeis still trailed by double figures, 57-47, with 11:34 remaining, when they embarked on a 15-3 run of their own, sparked by a Ryan Weiss (Hewlett, N.Y./North Broward Prep) 3-pointer. The Judges tied things up at 59-all on a Rodl jumper and went back on top when Zakheim dialed long distance with 6:13 to go that made it 62-60.
• The lead changed hands four times over the next four minutes, with grad student Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) draining a straight-away 3-pointer with 2:14 left that gave Brandeis a 71-70 lead.
• The Judges got a stop on their next possession, but were unable to extend the lead.
• Chicago's Pit gave the visitors the lead on their next possession, and after a Brandeis miss, the Maroons got an offense with under a minute to go before Regan made it a three-point game with just under 20 seconds to go.
• Brandeis was unable to get off shot on their next possession, as a pass just eluded a cutting Rodl. Chicago finished 3-of-4 from the line down the stretch for the six-point final, 77-71.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges were paced by Rodl, who finished with 21 points, while Zakheim finished with 19.
• Using had a fine all-around performance, finishing with nine points and leading the team with six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
• Weiss added eight points as the Brandeis bench outscored Chicago's, 10-8.
• The Judges owned a 36-34 edge in points in the paint.
• The Maroons had a balanced attack, with four players scoring in double figures. Regan led all players with 22 points, but just five after halftime. Daniel Cochran picked up the slack, scoring 11 of his 17 after the break. Joe Berry added 13 points and Roper had 10.
• Cochrane just missed a double-double with nine rebounds to lead all players, while Regan led the Maroons with seven assists.
• Chicago had the edge on the boards, 28-25, and made 10 3-pointers to eight for the Judges, and 11-7 edge in scoring from the line.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will meet Washington University for their Senior Day on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Auebach Arena.