WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team suffered a 90-57 loss to the No. 17-ranked Emory Eagles, who led wire-to-wire. The Judges drop to 4-12, 0-5 in the University Athletic Association (UAA). The Eagles improve to 14-2 and stay undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record.
The game was tight for the first seven-plus minutes, as an Eric D'Aguanno (Saunderstown, R.I. / Saint Andrews) three-point shot made it an 11-8 game with 12:26 remaining in the first half. Emory immediately answered with a three-pointer of its own, however, and extended its lead all the way out to 22-8 before a Brandeis timeout with 9:03 to go in the period. The Judges were able to narrow the lead to 10 with just under six minutes left, but Emory responded and ended up with a 49-31 halftime lead.
Both teams came out of the break evenly, as the Emory lead remained at 18 with 12:48 remaining. The Eagles took further hold of the game after that, however, increasing their lead all the way to 35 before taking the 90-57 victory.
Emory won thanks to terrific shooting and passing. The Eagles hit 53.8% of their shots while holding the Judges to just 41.3% from the field. They also shot nearly 40% from three, making 12 of 31 shots from behind the arc. Emory dished the basketball prolifically this afternoon, racking up 26 assists and holding the Judges to just nine.
Individually, Brandeis was led by D'Aguanno, who had 13 points off the bench, including three three-pointers. Freshman Chandler Jones (Springfield, Mass. / Springfield Commonwealth Academy) and senior Latye Workman (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Bedford Academy) also achieved double digit point totals, with 12 apiece. Workman also led the Judges in rebounding, grabbing six boards (including three of the offensive variety), and assists, with three. Jones and junior Corey Sherman (Penn Valley, Penn. / Lower Merion) grabbed five rebounds each as well.
Emory had four players score in double figures, led by Christophe Avant's 17. Matt Davet and Romin Williams added 14 points each, and Beau Bommarito had 13. The Eagles' rebounding was a real team effort, as 12 players registered at least one rebound and none had more than five (Nick Stuck). Whitt Rapp was the chief helper for Emory, dishing out ten assists.
Both teams are back in action at home next Friday at 8 PM. Brandeis plays host to Case Western Reserve while Emory takes on Chicago.
--Corey Cohen '18