WORCESTER, Mass. (taken from a Clark University release)-- The 23rd-ranked Brandeis University men's basketball team defeated Clark University, 51-47, tonight, giving head coach Brian Meehan his 100th victory on the sidelines. With the win over his alma mater, Meehan ties the program's first head coach, Harry Stein, for second on the Judges' career list. Meehan is now 100-63 in seven seasons at Brandeis and 260-102 in 14 years as a head coach, including his seven-year stint at Salem State.
Clark (4-2) had three chances to send its matchup with Brandeis (4-1) into overtime but couldn't connect on the game-tying three in the final seconds. Clark found themselves down by seven at 50-43 with 45 seconds remaining when Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) drove coast to coast to pull the Cougars within five.
Brandeis senior guard Andre Roberson (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson Acad.) then split a pair from the charity stripe and Alexander made a pair from the line to get the lead down to three at 50-47 with 30 seconds left. The Judges' Tyrone Hughes (Dorchester, Mass./Taft School) missed both of his tries from the foul line, leaving the door open for Clark. The Cougars, who struggled from behind the arc all night, missed two on the same possession then forced a jump ball and missed another with three seconds left. Roberson then split two from the line again to seal the win for Brandeis.
Neither team produced much on the offensive end in the first half as they combined for just 45 points. The final 20 minutes didn't start out much differently as the first team didn't crack the 30-point barrier until the 11 minute mark. Clark actually held the led by as many as five midway through the second stanza, but a 15-4 run by the Judges over a six-minute span gave them a 41-35 lead with less than five minutes left.
The Cougars had that lead down to two following a long triple from Jack Minister (Manchester, England) but a steal and inside finish from senior Terrell Hollins (Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) and a triple from Roberson pushed the Brandeis edge back to seven. Clark shot just 31 percent from the field, including a 3-for-22 showing from behind the arc, while the Judges made just 35 percent of their attempts.
The Cougars held a slight advantage on the boards, 38-35, with 20 of their caroms coming on the offensive end. Brandeis, meanwhile, made a living from the charity stripe, going 17-for-28. Hollins himself attempted more (14) than the entire Clark team (12). Roberson took game-high honors with 14 points and six boards, while Hollins registered 12 points and seven boards. Clark was paced by Alexander, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while Mitch Renshaw (Rutland, Mass.) contributed 11 points and five rebounds. Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) totaled seven points and six rebounds and Minister added eight off the bench.
The Judges travel to Framingham State on Thursday for a 6 p.m. meeting with the Rams.