ATLANTA, Ga. -- Brandeis University junior guard Andre Roberson (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) had a terrific all-around game, leading the Judges with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and two blocked shots in a 76-63 University Athletic Association (UAA) victory at Emory University today. With the win, the Judges improve to 11-5 overall, 4-1 in the UAA, while the Eagles fall to 5-11, 0-5 UAA.
Roberson was one of four Brandeis players to score in double figures. He scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half. For the contest, Roberson shot 4-of-8 from the field and 8-of-12 from the line. His six assists tied for game-high honors, while his four steals led all players. Senior Kevin Olson (Rockport, Mass./Rockport) and graduate student Steve DeLuca (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) each tallied 17 points, with Olson getting 11 in the first half and DeLuca 12 in the second. The two combined to hit 9-of-16 from 3-point range, part of a 10-for-18 barrage (55.6%) overall. Junior guard Kenny Small (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) came off the bench with 11 points, his sixth-straight game scoring in double figures.
Emory was paced by a double-double performance by junior forward Anthony Fernandez (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit), who had game-highs with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Fernandez hit 7-of-12 from the floor with a trifecta and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line. Classmate Chad Hixon (Snellville, Ga./Berkmar/Oxford) added 11 points for the Eagles. Senior John Kresse (Charleston, S.C./Porter-Gaud) matched Roberson with a game-high six assists. The Eagles won the battle of the board, 32-28, just the third team to outrebounds Brandeis this season.
A tight first half featured four ties and six lead changes, and the teams went to the break tied at 35-35 after the Eagles ended the stanza on a 10-1 run over the last 3:38, converting a pair of traditional three-point plays in that span. Fernandez hit a la-up with 49 seconds left to knot the score.
After 10 straight scoreless possessions to start the second, Emory finally broke through with a Dan Curtin (Great Barrington, Mass./Deerfield Acad.) lay-in to reclaim the lead with 3:37 elapsed. That sparked an 8-2 Eagle run that gave the hosts their biggest lead of the game, 43-37, following a Julien Williams (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) free throw with 14:18 remaining.
The Judges turned the tables with 12 unanswered points over the next three-and-a-half minutes, knotting the game after a DeLuca trifecta followed by a Roberson hoop and a foul. Two from the line for Roberson gave the Judges the lead they would not relinquish, while another DeLuca deep ball made it a two possession game, 48-43, the rest of the way. Emory got as close as four points once, and were within six in the final two minutes, but a late Olson trifecta iced the contest.
Brandeis is next in action on Friday evening, Jan. 30, when they take on defending national champion Washington University at home at 8:00 p.m.