ATLANTA, Ga. – The Brandeis men's basketball team owned a 17-point lead midway through the second half, but host Emory closed regulation on a 29-12 run and outscored the Judges 13-4 in overtime to defeat the Judges, 94-85, in a University Athletic Association contest. With the loss, the Judges fall to 6-10 overall, 2-4 in the UAA, while the Eagles improve to 13-4, 4-2 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Trailing 27-19 with just over seven minutes to go in the first half, Brandeis outscored Emory 24-2 the rest of the way to take a 43-31 lead into the locker room.
• The Judges got 10 points from senior Tim Reale (Mason, Ohio/St. Andrews School, R.I.) and eight each off the bench from senior Sam Dowden (Andover, Mass./Andover) and rookie Eric D'Aguanno (Saunderstown, R.I./St. Andrews School) before the break.
• Brandeis kept Emory at bay for the first 10 minutes of the half thanks to the hot hand of senior Jack Fay (New Rochelle, N.Y./Suffield Acad.).
• Fay scored nine Brandeis points in a row during one stretch, including hitting all three free throws after getting fouled from beyond the arc and then completing a four-point play that made it 61-46 with 12:44 to go.
• After Reale scored five-straight points, another Fay trifecta with 10:41 to go gave Brandeis its largest lead, 69-52.
• Emory cut into the Brandeis lead with a 9-1 run, but a Nate Meehan three ball halted the hosts' momentum briefly.
• The Eagles' Beau Bommarito connected from downtown with 6:19 on the clock to get Emory to within nine at 75-66.
• After both teams missed from beyond the arc, a turning point in the game came when EU was whistled for a technical after committing a foul. The Judges were only able to convert one of the four foul shots.
• The Eagles' Adam Gigax answered with a 3-pointer as he scored eight of the game's next 11 points, with another trifecta getting them within 78-75 with 3:34 to go.
• The teams traded misses from deep, and Emory scored the next four points from the line to claim their first lead of the second half, 79-78, with 1:57 to go on two Gigax fouls shots.
• Emory was unable to capitalize on a Brandeis turnover on the next possession, but Gigax blocked a Reale shot with just under a minute to go. The Eagles milked the clock and missed a 3-pointer, but Rapp got the offensive rebound and hit two free throws to put the hosts ahead, 81-78, with 29 seconds remaining in regulation.
• After the Judges called timeout, they were able to get the ball to the hot hand of Fay, who buried a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left.
• Both teams were whistled for turnovers in the waning moments of regulation, but couldn't convert, forcing overtime.
• Emory scored the first four points of the extra session and were able to fend off the Judges from there.

FOR BRANDEIS

• Fay netted a career-high 19 points, 16 of which came in the second half. He hit 4-of-4 overall, including 3-of-3 from deep, in the second half for just his second game scoring in double digits this season. Fay also played a career-high 39 minutes.
• Reale also finished with 19, 10 of which came in the first half, as he played 41 of the 45 minutes.
• Dowden also reached double digits in scoring, finishing with 12 off the bench.
• Senior guard Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson) led the team with six rebounds, while Reale and Fay each had four assists.
• The Judges were plagued by foul trouble, as they were whistled for 35 fouls – 19 more than their season average – with five players fouling out, including leading scorer Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School), who was limited to just eight minutes of action.
• The 35 fouls were 13 more than their previous season-high.  

FOR EMORY

• The Eagles got a game-high 28 points from Gigax, 23 of which came in the second half and overtime.
• Jim Gordon recorded a double-double with 26 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
• Whit Rapp had 15 points, including 9-of-11 free throws, and a game-high nine assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After shooting 57% in the first half (13-23) and 52% in the second (13-25), the Judges were just 13% (1-of-8) from the floor in overtime.
• Emory outrebounded Brandeis, 44-26, including 15-4 on the offensive glass.
• The Eagles also outscored the Judges from the free-throw line, 37-23.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis travels to take on #7 Rochester Sunday at 11 a.m. in another UAA showdown.
• Emory takes on NYU Sunday at noon.
• The Judges and Eagles will meet again next Friday evening in Waltham.