WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team delivered a runaway performance Friday evening, using a dominant first half and timely answers to second-half runs to secure an 81-66 victory over Carnegie Mellon in a UAA matchup at Red Auerbach Arena. Senior Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany/ Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin) led the way with a career-high scoring effort as the Judges controlled the game from the opening minutes.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 13-6, 6-2 UAA.
• Carnegie Mellon, 10-8, 2-5 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brandeis struck first, as Rodl opened the scoring with a jumper on the Judges' first possession. After Carnegie Mellon briefly took an early lead, Brandeis responded with a 7-0 run highlighted by a dunk and a three-pointer from Rodl.
• The Tartans quickly made a comeback ending with a 3-pointer by Evan Mirazimi, but the Judges continued to build momentum midway through the half, as Rodl connected on four three-pointers in the opening 14 minutes to give the Judges a 27-21 lead they would never relinquish.
• Brandeis pushed its lead to double figures following a late first-half surge capped by a 3-pointer from graduate student DJ Courtney (Miami, Fla./ Christopher Columbus), sending the Judges into the locker room with a 45-32 advantage.
• Brandeis wasted little time extending the lead in the second half. Rodl knocked down a 3-pointer just seconds in, and further baskets from sophomore Alex Zakheim (Bergenfield, N.J./ Perkiomen, Pa.) and Rodl pushed the margin to 18 points with 14:57 left on the clock. 
• The Tartans made several attempts to chip away at the deficit, cutting the lead to as few as 15 points in the final eight minutes, but Brandeis answered each run. 3-pointers by graduate student Jai Deshpande (San Carlos, Calif. Sacred Heart Prep), Courtney, layups by graduate student Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./ Old Lyme) and Zakheim and a late triple from Zakheim steadied the Judges down the stretch, allowing Brandeis to close out the 81-66 road victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Rodl delivered one of the best performances of his Brandeis career, pouring in a game- and career-high 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting, including 7-of-11 from three-point range, while adding nine rebounds and three defensive plays (two steals, one block).
• Rodl's 33 points are the most by a Judge since Tommy Eastman M'22 went for 35 against Emory on Feb. 4, 2022, and marked their first 30-point game since Toby Harris '25 had 30 against Salem State on Nov. 29, 2022.
• Zakheim followed with 20 points, eight assists - one short of a career-high - and six rebounds.
• Courtney chipped in 10 points, Deshpande added seven points off the bench, and sophomore Ryan Weiss (Hewlett, N.Y./ North Broward Prep) knocked down a key second-half three-pointer.
• Carnegie Mellon was led by Evan Mirazimi and former Judges Sam Adusei, who paced the Tartans in scoring each with 16 points, while Isaac Higgs and Nikola Dimitrijevic contributed 15 and 10 points, respectively.
• Brandeis shot 49.2 percent from the field and an efficient 44.4 percent from three-point range (12-of-27). The Judges also committed just seven turnovers, and turned defense into offense with a 15-6 edge in points off turnovers.
• CMU held an edge in rebounding (42–39) and second-chance points (13–7). Despite those advantages, Brandeis' shooting efficiency and perimeter scoring proved decisive for the 81-66 victory.
• This victory marks the first sweep of CMU by Brandeis in over 5 years, since the 2019-20 season.

UP NEXT

• The Judges continue their road journey with another UAA matchup, traveling to Cleveland to face Case Western Reserve again on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 2pm, as Brandeis looks to extend its winning streak to 5 games.