WALTHAM, Mass.- Thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers and a season-high 24 points off the bench from senior guard Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./Brimmer and May School), the Brandeis University men's basketball team defeated the visiting Case Western Reserve Spartans 85-74 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest at Red Auerbach Arena. The Judges improve to 10-9 (2-6 UAA) while the Spartans fall to 12-7 (4-4 UAA).
Brandeis began their onslaught from beyond the arc early in the first half when they found themselves trailing 13-4 at the 14:29 mark. The Judges inched closer and cut the deficit to 15-13 when senior guard Ruben Kanya (Ottawa, Ontario/Bridgton Acad, Maine) drained a trey from the wing. After sophomore guard Colby Smith (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover) knotted it up at 15-15 by recovering a loose ball in the middle of the lane and converting a lay-up, Brandeis nailed three consecutive shots from downtown to nearly blow the roof off the arena. First it was rookie forward Samuel Dowden (Andover, Mass./Andover) from the left corner, then it was Retos curling off a screen, and finally it was Dowden once more to complete the run and give the Judges a 24-15 advantage. Brandeis would stretch out the surge, capped off by two more 3-pointers from Retos that had the Judges leading 32-17 with 5:11 to go before halftime. Case would close the gap to 34-26 when sophomore guard Jimmy Holman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) went 1-for-2 from the line but a buzzer-beating runner in the lane by Retos gave Brandeis a 36-26 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Judges' maintained their strong play as their lead ballooned to 16 on a Retos lay-up with 13:50 to play. While the Spartans trimmed the deficit all the way down to 60-55 on a jumper by junior forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Prep.) with 8:06 on the clock, they were never able to get within one possession. Seven points from senior forward Alex Stoyle (Goffstown, N.H./Tilton School) after that basket and a combined 6-for-6 effort from Retos and Smith at the charity stripe helped Brandeis ice the game for the final 85-74 margin of victory.
The Judges shot a scorching 53.6% from the field including 8-for-14 (57.1%) from deep for the contest. Retos scored his 24 points on 8-for-10 from the field including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. With those four trifectas, Retos now has 205 for his career and is five away from the all-time Brandeis record. Joining him in double-figures were two more reserves, junior forward Ishmael Kalilou (Windsor, Conn./Taft School) with 13 points and Stoyle with 11, all of his coming in the second half. The reserves outscored their Case counterparts 53-6. Senior center Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./St. Andrews School, R.I.)contributed 10 points in an efficient 17 minutes in the starting line-up. Smith racked up a career-high nine assists for the game while adding six rebounds, five points, and a steal. Senior guard Ben Bartoldus (Hillsborough, N.H./Proctor Acad.) led the squad with seven caroms.
Case featured all five starters with double-digit scoring. Seniors David Thompson (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and Tim Chung (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos) led the way with 17 points apiece including a game-high five trifectas for Chung. Junior guard Julien Person (Houston, Texas/Second Baptist) added 12 points while Holman and McLoughlin each contributed 11 points. McLoughlin pulled down a team-high seven rebounds while Holman led the squad with six assists. Person also nabbed a game-high three steals.
The Judges continue their UAA slate with a match-up against Carnegie Mellon at home on Sunday February 9th with a 12:00 p.m. start. The Spartans hit the road again for a UAA contest on Sunday February 9th versus NYU at 12:00 p.m.