WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team closed out the home portion of its schedule today with a 76-60 loss at the hands of 17th-ranked Washington University in a University Athletic Association contest on Senior Day. The Judges fall to 17-7 overall, 8-5 in the UAA, while Washington University improves to 19-5, 9-4 UAA, salvaging a split in the season series.
After both teams were cold to start the contest, the key run in the game came late in the first half. After Brandeis junior Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./St. Andrews, R.I., School) hit one-of-two from the line at the 6:13 mark, the Judges were within one at 14-13. For the rest of the half, however, the Bears doubled Brandeis's output, 20-10, to take a 34-23 lead at the intermission. Brandeis hit just 4-of-11 down the stretch and 27.6% for the half (8-29), while WashU closed on an 8-for-10 streak to finish at 41.2% (14-34). Bear senior guard Ben Hoener (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) had 12 points in the first half, 10 of which came in that final stretch of six-plus minutes. WashU also owned a 29-15 rebounding edge.
Brandeis opened the second half by scoring eight of the first 12 points, climbing within seven points at 38-31 on Jay Freeman's (Dorchester, Mass./St. Mark's School) jumper at the 15:24 mark. The visitors scored the next two baskets to extend the lead back to double figures, but a Freeman trifecta sparked another run. His lay-up cut the deficit to 44-38 with 12:47 left, but that was as close as the Judges would get.
WashU rattled off the next nine points of the contest, with junior Alan Aboona's (Wheeling, Ill/St. Viator) 3-pointer with just under eight minutes left pushing the lead to 15 points. The Bears would lead by as many as 19 points before the 16-point final margin of victory.
For the game, Brandeis put three players in double figures. Dascy led the Judges with 17 points, hitting 6-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line. He also topped the Judges with eight rebounds. Freeman finished with 12 points, but needed 5-of-16 shots to get there, including 2-of-8 from deep. He also had a game-high three steals. Junior guard Gabriel Moton (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg) added 11 points thanks to 6-of-7 from the line, helping overcome 2-of-10 shooting. He also had a game-high six assists. Brandeis shot just 34.4% for the game (21-61).
WashU was led by Hoener's career-high 25 points. He hit 8-of-12 overall, 2-of-3 from deep and all seven of his free throws. Junior forward Chris Klimek (Inverness, Ill./William Friend) added 14 points, seven in each half, and had three blocked shots and three assists. Aboona finished with 10 points on 4-of-9, 2-of-6 from downtown. The Bears, Division III's top rebounding team finished with a 49-30 advantage on the glass. Sophomore Matt Palucki (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) had 12 to lead all players, while Klimek had nine and Robert Burnett (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) had eight. The Bears shot 43.5% from the field (27-62).
Before the game, Brandeis honored its three seniors: Freeman, Wouter van der Eng (Alphen aun der Rijn, Netherlands/Kimball Union, Vt., Acad.) and Anthony Trapasso (Sterling, Mass./St. Johns Prep.) who were playing in their final home games.
The Judges wrap up the regular season next Saturday at New York University at 3 p.m.