ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Brandeis senior guard Gabriel Moton (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg) scored a game-high 27 points, but no other Judge was able to reach double figures in scoring tonight as they lost an 82-72 decision on the road at No. 7-ranked Washington University in University Athletic Association play. With the loss, the Judges fall to 8-5 overall on the season, 0-2 in the UAA. The Bears improve to 11-2, 2-0 UAA.
Moton scored 18 of his game-high 27 points after the intermission as the Judges tried to rally from a 33-22 halftime deficit. Brandeis closed within five at 35-30 when Moton hit a 3-pointer just 76 seconds in to cap an 8-2 run. The Bears answered with seven in a row of their own, and the Judges couldn't closer than eight points the rest of the way. Moton was able to help trim a 20-point deficit to nine with 1:38 to go, but it was too little, too late.
For the game, Moton hit 9-of-16 from the field, 4-of-9 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the line. His 18 second-half points came on 5-of-7 overall, 3-of-5 from deep in addition to all of his foul shots. Moton also tied for team-high honors with three assists and game-high with three steals. Senior guards Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./Brimmer and May) and Ruben Kanya (Ottawa, Ont./Bridgton Acad, Maine) each scored eight points, including two 3-pointers. Junior Ishmael Kalilou (Windsor, Conn./Taft School) led the Judges with seven rebounds, a new career-high.
Washington put four starters in double figures, paced by forward Chris Klimek's 25 points and seven rebounds. Guard Allan Aboona scored all 17 of his points in the second half, while backcourt mate Tim Cooney had 15 points and a game-high seven assists. Forward Matt Palucki added 10 points, while Nick Burt led all players with nine rebounds. The hosts used significant advantages in scoring from the line (26-11) and rebounding (37-30) while converting 10 offensive rebounds in 14 second-chance points. Brandeis had just four second-chance points on eight offensive caroms.
The key stretch of the game came midway through the first half. After a Moton fast-break lay-up gave Brandeis a brief 15-13 lead, the Bears scored 14 unanswered points, six coming from Klimek. Brandeis went nearly eight minutes without a field goal. WashU led by as many as 15 points at 31-16 before the Judges scored six of the final eight points of the stanza to cut into the lead.
Both teams resume UAA play on Sunday afternoon. Brandeis travels to the University of Chicago to face the Maroons at 12 noon Central/1 pm Eastern. WashU hosts NYU at the same time.