WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University men's basketball sophomore Tim Reale (Mason, Ohio/St. Andrews School) scored 14 of his career-high 20 points in the second half as the Judges never trailed in a 68-57 victory over Carnegie Mellon tonight. The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Judges, as they improve to 8-13 overall, 3-7 in the University Athletic Association. CMU falls to 12-9, 3-7 UAA.
As the Brandeis women had in the first game of tonight's UAA doubleheader, the Judges jumped out to a 16-4 lead. They hit five of their first seven shots and held the Tartans to just one field goal in seven shots over the first 10:31. Reale had six points in the opening run, which was capped by junior guard Colby Smith's (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover) traditional three-point play.
CMU answered with an 11-2 run of their own, getting within 18-15 on a Thomas Cooke 3-pointer with just under four minutes to go in the first half. The Brandeis defense reasserted itself down the stretch of the stanza, allowing just one free throw. A late jumper by senior Connor Arnold (Andover, Mass./Andover), who then dished for a 3-pointer by rookie Carlin Haymon (Boston, Mass. / Rivers School), pushed the Brandeis lead to 25-19 at the break.
In the second half, Brandeis kept the Tartans at bay thanks to some key 3-pointers and foul shooting. The visitors got within one possession at 46-43 with 9:15 on the clock, but rookie Nate Meehan (Lowell, Mass./Phillips Andover) connected from deep, while sophomore Samuel Dowden (Andover, Mass./Andover) answered CMU's next bucket from beyond the arc, pushing the lead back to seven, 52-45. The lead would never get closer than two possessions the rest of the way, with Brandeis hitting their last eight foul shots to provide the final margin.
Reale surpassed his previous career scoring high by connecting on 7-of-9 overall from the field and 6-of-8 from the line to lead all players with 20 points. Also reaching double figures in scoring were sophomore Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson School), who had 13 points and six rebounds, and rookie forward Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School), who scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. Arnold led all players with nine rebounds, matching his career-high in his next-to-last home game. Smith finished with nine points and led the Judges with four assists and two steals. Brandeis outrebounded CMU, 30-24, and outscored them from the free-throw line, 20-5.
Carnegie Mellon also had three players reach double figures in scoring. Jack Serbin led the Tartans with 18 points and three blocked shots. Seth Cordts, an Amherst, N.H. product, had 16 points and four assists, while Chris Shkil had 12 points and team-high eight rebounds off the bench. He also blocked three shots.
Brandeis closes out its home schedule on Sunday at noon against Case Western Reserve University. Carnegie Mellon is at NYU at the same time.
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