PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Despite a getting a career-high 21 points from senior Colby Smith (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover), who played all 40 minutes in just his sixth start of the season, the Brandeis University men's basketball team suffered a 78-70 loss at the hands of Carnegie Mellon in a University Athletic Association (UAA) road contest today.
Brandeis owned a 31-24 lead at halftime as the Judges held the Tartans to 28 percent shooting from the field (7-25). Junior guard Jack Fay (New Rochelle, N.Y./Suffield Acad.) led the Judges with 10 first-half point, while sophomore Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School) had nine.
The teams traded 3-pointers and lay-ups early in the second half before a Cooper bucket at the 17:23 mark gave the Judges their largest lead of the game, 38-29. CMU answered with a 16-2 run over the next six-plus minutes as the Judges went 1-8 with three turnovers in the span to fall behind, 45-40.
The Tartans eventually went ahead, 54-46, with 8:38 remaining, but the Judges quickly tied it up, scoring eight quick points on 3-pointers by sophomore Carlin Haymon (Boston, Mass./Rivers School) and Cooper, followed by a Cooper lay-up at 6:34 that tied it at 54-all.
The lead traded hands three times over the next minute and a half, with a Smith 3-pointer at 5:02 giving the Judges a 60-58 lead. CMU's Ryan Maha answered with a jumper to tie the game at 60, and after three-straight turnovers, Maha scored again, followed by a Chris Shkil jumper to make it 64-60. The Tartans never trailed again. Though Smith answered with a traditional three-point play to get back within one, the hosts scored 12 of the next 15 points to pull away.
The Judges fell despite Smith's 21 points and 40 minutes, both career-highs. He hit 9-of-14 from the field, 1of-2 from deep and 2-of-3 from the line. Smith also led the team with six rebounds. Sixteen of his 21 points came in the second half. Cooper finished with 19 points and five rebounds, while Fay ended with 13 points.
CMU rebounded from a slow first half to shoot 68 percent in the second half (19-28) and outscore Brandeis, 54-39. Shkil led all players with 24 points on 10-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line. Maha wound up with 15 points and Jack Serbin registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also had four blocked shots. The trio scored 45 of their 53 points in the second half.
The Judges return to action with another UAA road trip next weekend. They will be at the University of Rochester next Friday night at 8 p.m. and at Emory University next Sunday at noon.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Despite a getting a career-high 21 points from senior Colby Smith (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover), who played all 40 minutes in just his sixth start of the season, the Brandeis University men's basketball team suffered a 78-70 loss at the hands of Carnegie Mellon in a University Athletic Association (UAA) road contest today.
Brandeis owned a 31-24 lead at halftime as the Judges held the Tartans to 28 percent shooting from the field (7-25). Junior guard Jack Fay (New Rochelle, N.Y./Suffield Acad.) led the Judges with 10 first-half point, while sophomore Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School) had nine.
The teams traded 3-pointers and lay-ups early in the second half before a Cooper bucket at the 17:23 mark gave the Judges their largest lead of the game, 38-29. CMU answered with a 16-2 run over the next six-plus minutes as the Judges went 1-8 with three turnovers in the span to fall behind, 45-40.
The Tartans eventually went ahead, 54-46, with 8:38 remaining, but the Judges quickly tied it up, scoring eight quick points on 3-pointers by sophomore Carlin Haymon (Boston, Mass./Rivers School) and Cooper, followed by a Cooper lay-up at 6:34 that tied it at 54-all.
The lead traded hands three times over the next minute and a half, with a Smith 3-pointer at 5:02 giving the Judges a 60-58 lead. CMU's Ryan Maha answered with a jumper to tie the game at 60, and after three-straight turnovers, Maha scored again, followed by a Chris Shkil jumper to make it 64-60. The Tartans never trailed again. Though Smith answered with a traditional three-point play to get back within one, the hosts scored 12 of the next 15 points to pull away.
The Judges fell despite Smith's 21 points and 40 minutes, both career-highs. He hit 9-of-14 from the field, 1of-2 from deep and 2-of-3 from the line. Smith also led the team with six rebounds. Sixteen of his 21 points came in the second half. Cooper finished with 19 points and five rebounds, while Fay ended with 13 points.
CMU rebounded from a slow first half to shoot 68 percent in the second half (19-28) and outscore Brandeis, 54-39. Shkil led all players with 24 points on 10-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line. Maha wound up with 15 points and Jack Serbin registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also had four blocked shots. The trio scored 45 of their 53 points in the second half.
The Judges return to action with another UAA road trip next weekend. They will be at the University of Rochester next Friday night at 8 p.m. and at Emory University next Sunday at noon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
· After surrendering the first six points of the game, the Judges went on a tear, outscoring Carnegie Mellon, 15-2, over the remainder of the first quarter to take a 15-8 lead after 10 minutes.
· CMU shot just 18.2% in the first quarter (3-18), but ratcheted up the offense in the second, hitting on 69.2% (9-13) and outscoring the Judges (4-16, 25%) by a 24-10 margin to take a 32-25 lead at halftime.
· The pendulum swung back the other way in the third, with the Judges owning a 27-17 scoring edge thanks to 12-18 from the field (66.7%) and 6-15 by the Tartans (40.0%).
· Brandeis junior center Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) tallied 10 of her 12 points in the third quarter.
· The visitors held off CMU in the fourth period, 20-17, as they got hot from beyond the arc, hitting 3-of-4 from downtown, and 5-of-6 from the line after struggling over the first 30 minutes.
· Junior Frankie Pinto (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) connected for eight of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter on two 3-pointers and two free throws.
FOR BRANDEIS
· In addition to Pinto's 14 points and 12 from Jackson, senior guard Heather Cain (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) finished with 13, junior guard Paris Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) also had 12 and junior forward Sydney Sodine (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) added 10.
· Jackson and Hodges tied for team-high honors with six rebounds each. Jackson also tied a season-best with four steals.
· Sodine led Brandeis and tied her career-high with four assists.
FOR CMU
· The UAA and nation's leading scorer, junior Lisa Murphy, led all players today with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the line.
· Liza Otto added 16 points, Lindsay Poss 13 and Jackie Hudepohl 12 for the Tartans, but Carnegie Mellon's remaining five players combined for just six points in 67 minutes.
· Murphy and Poss tied for game-high honors with seven rebound each, while Jenn Mayberger had a game-high seven assists, tying her team's single-season record in the process.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
· Pinto led Brandeis's reserves to a 24-4 edge in bench scoring.
· The Judges' nine turnovers matched their second-lowest total of the season, also coming last week at home against Carnegie Mellon. They forced 17 CMU turnovers and turned it into a 16-12 edge in points off those turnovers.
· Despite getting outrebounded , 37-31 overall and 12-9 on the offensive glass, Brandeis outscored the hosts, 11-8, in second-chance points.
· The Judges completed a sweep in Cleveland and Pittsburgh for just the second time since 2011, having last finished it off in 2014.
· Brandeis is now 33-22 all-time against Carnegie Mellon, their most wins against any opponent in program history.
UP NEXT
· The Judges head to Rochester and Emory next Friday and Sunday at 6 and 2 p.m., respectively.