Men's Basketball Downed by Rochester in UAA Tilt, 78-50

Connor Arnold '14 stuffed the stat sheet with six points, six boards and five assists (photo by Sportspix/Mike Broglio)
Connor Arnold '14 stuffed the stat sheet with six points, six boards and five assists (photo by Sportspix/Mike Broglio)

WALTHAM, Mass.- The Brandeis University men's basketball team struggled to find the basket as they lost to the University of Rochester in a University Athletic Association tilt, 78-50. The Yellowjackets used a torrid-shooting first half to pull away from the Judges early at Red Auerbach Arena. Brandeis falls to 7-11 (2-5 UAA) while Rochester improves to 7-11 (3-4 UAA).

After a back-and-forth first few minutes, the Judges trailed 9-8 following a lay-in by forward Connor Arnold (Andover, Mass./Deerfield Acad.). From that point on the visitors took control, scoring the next 14 points and piling on until they led 48-15 at the break.

The Yellowjackets did not shoot a free throw but hit on 18-of-25 (72.0%) from the field and 12-of-16 (75.0%) from beyond the arc to light up the Judges. Junior forward Jared Seltzer (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) and sophomore guard Mack Montague (Westport, Conn./Suffield Acad.) led the way by combining for 35 points, 13-for-15 shooting from the field, and 9-of-10 from downtown.

In the second half Rochester's advantage ballooned to as many as 39 points. Brandeis went on a sustained 18-6 run to cut it down to 75-50 with 2:47 remaining on a pair of freebies from sophomore guard Tim Reale (Mason, Ohio/St. Andrew's School). The Yellowjackets scored the last three points of the game for the final margin of 78-50.

Brandeis was led by Reale and rookie forward Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School) who scored nine points apiece. Rookie forward KJ Baptiste (Onset, Mass./Brimmer and May) and sophomore forward Samuel Dowden (Andover, Mass./Andover) shared game-high honors with six rebounds. Cooper and Arnold each had two assists.

Rochester was led by Seltzer and Montague who poured in 19 and 16 points, respectively, all in the first half. Senior guard Tyler Seidman (Bellemore, N.Y./ Holy Trinity) joined them in double-figures with 11 points off the bench. Seltzer and junior forward Dylan Peretz (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) shared team-high honors with five rebounds while three different players each recorded four assists.

The Judges hit the road to face off against UAA opponent Emory on Friday February 6th at 8:00 p.m. The Yellowjackets head home to take on NYU.