WALTHAM, Mass. – A season-high 11 different players broke into the scoring column tonight as the host Brandeis University men's basketball team rolled past visiting Framingham State University, 73-47, in Red Auerbach Arena. With the win, the Judges, ranked No. 19 in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2007-08, while the Rams fall to 2-5 on the campaign.
Brandeis used a balanced attack, as only one player scored more than three field goals on the night. A pair of rookies turned in their first career games scoring in double figures to lead the way, as forwards Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./St. Andrews School) and Alex Stoyle (Goffstown, N.H./Tilton School) each scored 10 points. The duo combined to shoot 7-of-9 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line. Stoyle had a thunderous dunk late in the second half as well. In the backcourt, sharpshooters Vytas Kriskus (Kvedarna, Lithuania/Holderness School) and Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./Brimmer and May School) each connected on three 3-pointers for nine points each.
The Judges also dominated the boards, outrebounding FSU, 48-23. Rookie guard Ruben Kanya (Ottawa, Ont./Bridgeton Acad.) posted a career-high with eight boards, while Kriskus had six and three others had five. Junior Tyrone Hughes (Roslindale, Mass./Taft School) and rookie Ben Bartoldus (Hillsborough, N.H./Proctor Acad.) tied for game-high honors with five assists each. For Bartoldus, it was a career-high.
The Judges used a torrid second half to earn the win. They hit 63.6 percent from the floor (14-22) and 80 percent from beyond the arc (4-5) while outrebounding the Rams, 26-9. They also held the visitors to just 28.1 percent shooting (9-32) and 14.3 percent from deep (1-7).
Framingham State senior Royce Veal (Dorchester, Mass./Minuteman Regional) led all scorers with 13 points on 5-of-15 from the field. Rookie Adeyemi Ajao (Randolph, Mass./Randolph) added seven points off the bench. Classmate Leonardo Medina (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) had five boards and two assists to pace the Rams.
FSU opened the game with a traditional three-point play by junior guard Allen St. Surin (Brockton, Mass./No. Cambridge Catholic), which Kriskus answered with a trifecta. Veal's jumper at the 16:31 mark would give the Rams their final lead, as, after both teams missed on their next trips, Bartoldus answered from downtown on the Judges' third shot of the following possession. That sparked a 16-4 run over the next 4:29 that made the game 19-9 on a Retos bomb. The Judges led by as many as 12 in the first half before taking a 32-22 lead into the locker room.
Brandeis opened the second half on a 19-5 run over the first 6:27 of the second to put the game away. The Judges hit eight of the first 10 shots and grabbed eight of nine rebounds in that stretch to help put the game away.
Brandeis closes out first-semester action this weekend with the Big Four Challenge at Babson College, taking on the hosts at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Framingham State takes on Rivier College Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Colby College Invitational in Waterville, Maine.