NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team closed out its season Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought 76-69 loss against New York University in UAA action, as the game remained tight into the final minutes.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 13-12, 6-8 UAA.
• NYU, 17-8, 8-6 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges opened the contest with early buckets from graduate student DJ Courtney (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus), sophomore Alex Zakheim (Bergenfield, N.J./Perkiomen, Pa.), graduate student Jai Deshpande (San Carlos, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep), and senior Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin) to keep pace with NYU, as the game was tied 8-8 after five minutes.
• Midway through the first half, Brandeis found its offensive rhythm. Back-to-back three-pointers from junior Ali Kaan Bek (Istanbul, Turkey/Koc School) gave the Judges a 35-28 advantage, and a Rodl layup with 1:31 helped to maintain the lead.
• Despite the Violets' late push to close the half, the Judges held on to a 37-34 lead into the break.
• Brandeis battled early in the second half. After trading baskets, the Judges reclaimed the lead at 53-52 on a Rodl 3-pointer with 12:01 remaining.
• After a 8-0 run by NYU, a layup by graduate student Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) and a 3-pointer by Courtney helped Brandeis to catch up and tie the score 58-58 with 8:12 on the clock.
• Both teams went cold, with just one NYU basket over the next three-plus minutes. The home team broke the drought with a second-chance bucket at the 4:56 mark to take a 62-58 lead that they would never relinquish.
• Rodl drilled another 3-pointer with 3:56 left to cut the Judges' deficit to 65-64, and Zakheim added consecutive layups in the final minute to keep the Judges close behind.
• However, Brandeis could not overcome the Violets' late free-throw shooting. The hosts converted four shots from the stripe in the final 49 seconds to seal the 76-69 result.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Rodl led the Judges with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Zakheim added 15 points and three assists. 
• Rodl's impressive offensive season finished fifth in school history in total points (562) and scoring average (23.4 ppg), the highest since 1991-92 and 1983-84, respectively.
• His 69 3-pointers this season rank eighth all-time. 
• First-year Gur Dhillon (Frisco, Texas/Brewster Acad. (N.H.)) chipped in 7 points, and Using paced the Judges on the glass with eight rebounds and three blocks.
• Darren Rubin's 26 points led the three double-figure scorers for NYU. Luke Kolaja added 18 points and eight rebounds, Bryan Moussako finished with 12, and Carnegie Johnson contributed seven points and three assists.
• Brandeis shot 49.0 percent from the field (25-51) and 36.0 percent from three-point range (9-25), but committed 14 turnovers that led to 18 NYU points. The Judges were also held without an offensive rebound.
• NYU shot only 47.1 percent from the floor (32-68), but held a 36-28 rebounding advantage, including nine offensive boards that resulted in eight second-chance points. The Violets also dominated the paint, outscoring Brandeis 50-30 inside, to achieve their 76-69 victory.
• The Judges finished their season with a 13-12 record, 6-8 in the UAA, and in fifth place for the second season in a row.