WALTHAM, Mass.- A trio of seniors led the Brandeis University men's basketball team to a 70-50 rout of the visiting University of Chicago Maroons in a University Athletic Association (UAA) match-up at Red Auerbach Arena. The Judges improve to 12-10 (4-7 UAA) while the Maroons fall to 13-9 (6-5 UAA).
Early in the contest, the big story was a record-breaking 3-pointer from senior guard Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./Brimmer and May School). With 10:58 to go in the first half, Retos drained a trifecta on his first shot of the game to give him 210 made 3-pointers for his career, a new Brandeis all-time record. Retos passed Steve Harrington '92, and would tack on three more from beyond the arc to put his career mark at 213 and counting.
The first half featured six ties and five lead changes as both teams struggled to seize control. Chicago jumped out to a 7-2 lead but Brandeis responded with an 11-6 spurt, capped by Retos' 3-pointer, that tied the contest at 13-13. More than eight minutes later, the two teams were still neck and neck when the Judges finally earned some breathing room. A pair of free throws from senior center Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./St. Andrew's School, R.I.) gave Brandeis a 25-24 advantage. Then, a driving lay-up by rookie guard Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson Acad.) made it 27-24. After a few missed opportunities by both squads, a transition dunk by senior guard Ben Bartoldus (Hillsborough, N.H./Proctor Acad.) gave the Judges their biggest lead of the half, 29-24. The teams traded buckets to end the period as Brandeis went to the locker room leading 31-26.
The second half was all Judges. Brandeis started off with an 11-6 run over the first five minutes to build its first double-digit lead, 42-32. From that point, the Judges remained firmly in control. With 10:08 to play, Chicago was able to trim the deficit to six, 51-45, on a jumper from senior forward Sam Gage (Waterloo, Wis./Waterloo) but Retos responded with a 3-pointer that sparked an 8-0 stretch to put the game away for good. Brandeis never let the lead go back under double-figures the rest of the way and won 70-50.
The Judges featured three double-digit scorers. Retos led the way with 14 points off the bench including 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Bartoldus added 13 points, moving him into 29th on Brandeis' career scoring list with 1,013. Dascy contributed 12 points, six rebounds, a block, and an assist. Sophomore forward Ishmael Kalilou (Windsor, Conn./Taft School) and senior guard Ruben Kanya (Ottawa, Ontario/Bridgton Acad, Maine) had strong performances as reserves. Kalilou hit his first four shots from the field to finish with eight points while Kanya provided intensity and defense as he pulled down seven caroms and added two points and an assist. Senior forward Alex Stoyle (Goffstown, N.H./Tilton School) had a game-high 10 boards and sophomore guard Colby Smith (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover) had a game-high four assists. In his first start of the season, sophomore forward Kevin Trotman (Bristol, Conn./Taft School) shared game-high honors with three blocks while adding six points and two assists.
The Maroons were led by sophomore guard Jordan Smith (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) who scored 13 points. Gage joined him in double-figures with 11 while senior guard Derrick Davis (Saginaw, Mich./Bridgeport) added 10 and tied for game-high honors with three blocks. Gage had a squad-leading six rebounds while junior guard Royce Muskeyvalley (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) had a team-high three assists.
Brandeis hits the road for a UAA contest at Rochester on Friday February 21st with an 8:00 p.m. start. Chicago heads home to face Carnegie Mellon in a UAA contest on Friday February 21st at 8:00 p.m.