#12 Chicago pulls away from men's basketball, 65-50

#12 CHICAGO PULLS AWAY IN SECOND HALF TO DEFEAT MEN'S BASKETBALL, 65-50

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Brandeis men's basketball team gave host University of Chicago a run for their money in the first half, but the 12^th-ranked Maroons used a pair of big runs in the second to pull away for a 65-50 University Athletic Association victory. The Judges fall to 8-8, 2-3 in the UAA, and see their two-game conference winning streak snapped, while the Maroons improve to 14-2, 5-0 UAA, and remain atop the league standings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first half was an intense affair as the lead changed hands 12 different times.
• The largest lead either team had was four points – Brandeis was up 18-14 after junior Tim Reale (Mason, Ohio/St. Andrews School, R.I.) assisted a 3-pointer by Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson Acad.) and followed with a lay-up of his own at the 3:13 mark.
• UC answered with a 10-2 run of their own, highlighted by two Jake Fenlon 3-pointers, the latter making it 24-20 with 1:48 on the clock.
• Vilmont hit a lay-up on Brandeis's final possession of the half to make it a two-point contest, 24-22, in favor of the Maroons at the break.
• Chicago opened the second half with two free throws, but Vilmont connected from downtown to cut the Brandeis deficit to 26-25 two minutes after the break.
• A Samuel Dowden (Andover, Mass./Andover) trifecta got the Judges back within two at 30-28.
•  Chicago answered with Tyler Howard's traditional three-point play and scored nine unanswered points to take the first double-digit lead of the game39-28 on an Alex Voss bucket.
• Rookie Michael McReynolds (Plano, Texas / Jesuit Coll. Prep of Dallas) stopped the bleeding with another 3-pointer for Brandeis at the 12:30 mark.
• After the teams traded hoops to make it a 41-33 edge for the hosts with 11:35 left, Chicago put the game away with a 16-1 run over the next six minutes to take a 57-34 lead.
• The Maroons connected on 4-of-6 shots from 3-point range in the streak, while the Judges missed four straight from beyond the arc and committed three turnovers.

FOR BRANDEIS

• Sophomore Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School) led the Judges in scoring for the third straight game and fourth in five contests with 11 points. He scored nine in the first half.
• Cooper also led the Judges with seven rebounds.
• Vilmont added eight points and led the Judges with three assists, tied with McReynolds.

FOR CHICAGO

• The Maroons had a balanced attack, with Collin Barthel scoring a game-high 12 points in 20 minutes off the bench. He hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range for all of his scoring.
• Fenlon and Alex Voss each scored 11 points.
• Nate Brooks led the Maroons with eight rebounds, while Howard had five assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Rebounding was even, with UC holding a slim 37-36 edge.
• Brandeis scored 15 second-chance points off their  10 offensive boards.
• After shooting just 39% (9-23) in the first half, Chicago hit 50% in the second (14-28).
• The Judges were just 33% (9-27) in the first, but did not improve as dramatically, hitting 38% in the second (11-29).

UP NEXT

• Brandeis returns home for another UAA weekend, taking on Case Western Reserve on Friday evening at 8 p.m., followed by a 12 noon contest against Carnegie Mellon on Sunday for Alumni Family Day.
• Chicago continued a four-game UAA home stand next weekend with Emory and Rochester.