With a record of 14-2, the Judges have already surpassed their win total from 2011-12. After their successful road trip to the Midwest, they improved to 5-0 in the University Athletic Association (UAA). Brandeis defeated Chicago, 59-55, on Friday night and Washington U., 69-62, on Sunday afternoon to complete just the sixth road sweep of those two teams in UAA history. In both contests, Brandeis rallied from a halftime deficit – 10 points against the Maroons and four points against the Bears.
Against Chicago, junior guard Gabriel Moton of St. Petersburg, Fla., a transfer from Boston College, scored seven of his game-high 14 points in the first 5:21 of the second half as the Judges closed to within one point. Classmate forward Alex Stoyle of Goffstown, N.H., scored eight of his 12 points in the final five minutes, including the go-ahead bucket on a fast-break with 4:30 remaining. Moton also had eight rebounds and five assists against UC.
In the win over WashU, Moton and junior guard Derek Retos of North Attleboro, Mass., were the stars. The Judges handed the Bears just their seventh loss in the last 100 games when they were leading at halftime and just their 13th home loss in the previous 13 seasons. Retos scored all of his game-high 23 points in the second half, hitting 7-of-10 overall and 6-of-9 from 3-point range. He became the seventh player in school history with 150 career 3-pointers in the process. Moton added 14 second-half points, including the game-winning trifecta with 1:19 left in the contest and the shot clock winding down.
Overall this season, Moton leads the Judges in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game, seventh in the UAA. He also tops the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg, 6th in UAA) and assists (3.9 apg, 6th in UAA), making him one of two players in the league to lead his team in all three categories. Retos's 11.1 points per game are second on the team and 17th in the UAA. The Judges' calling card this season has been their defense, as the lead the conference in scoring defense (60.9 points per game allowed), field goal percentage defense (38.6%) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (31.4%).
The Judges return to UAA road action this weekend, traveling to Emory University Friday night at 8 p.m. before a showdown at the University of Rochester, ranked No. 2 in the latest d3hoops.com poll, Sunday at noon. Brandeis's next home games come a week later against the same teams.
D3HOOPS.COM WEEK 8 NATIONAL POLL (RECORDS AS OF 1/20)
(UAA schools in bold, New England schools in italics)
# Team W-L Pts. Last Week
1 St. Thomas (19) 16-0 619 1
2 Rochester (2) 16-0 585 2
3 Middlebury (4) 15-0 583 3
4 Whitworth 16-1 534 4
5 North Central (Ill.) 16-1 519 5
6 WPI 18-0 506 6
7 UW-Stevens Point 16-2 483 7
8 Wooster 14-2 430 8
9 Williams 16-1 393 10
10 Catholic 15-2 358 11
11 Ramapo 16-2 351 12
12 St. Mary's (Md.) 16-2 317 14
13 UW-Whitewater 14-3 303 15
14 Amherst 15-2 278 16
15 Christopher Newport 13-2 236 17
16 Illinois Wesleyan 14-3 226 18
17 Calvin 15-2 207 21
18 Albertus Magnus 15-1 197 19
19 BRANDEIS 14-2 127 --
20 Stevens 14-1 123 24
21 Rhode Island College 14-2 119 25
22 Ohio Wesleyan 13-3 115 9
23 Hampden-Sydney 15-2 106 --
24 Washington U. 12-4 102 13
25 Wheaton (Ill.) 13-4 51 20
Dropped out: No. 22 Guilford, No. 23 Augustana.
Others receiving votes: Franklin and Marshall 48; Rose-Hulman 47; Virginia Wesleyan 32; Transylvania 25; Guilford 24; Wesley 22; Adrian 15; Augustana 12; Randolph 12; St. Norbert 8; Marietta 6; MIT 4; Emory 1; Springfield 1.
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.
- 30 -