Men complete season sweep of Chicago, 72-52

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team led nearly wire-to-wire tonight as the Judges defeated the University of Chicago, 72-52, in a University Athletic Association contest in UC's Ratner Center. With the win, the Judges improve to 14-9 on the season, 7-5 in the UAA. Brandeis now has its highest single-season win total since 2012-13, both overall and in the UAA. The Maroons fall to 14-9, 7-5.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges gave up the first basket of the game to the Maroons, then scored the game's next six points and never trailed again.
• UC was still within one point at 10-9 with 14:12 left in the first half when Brandeis embarked on an 8-0 run that featured 3-pointers from junior Eric D'Aguanno (Saunderstown, R.I./St. James Academy) and senior Corey Sherman (Penn Valley, Pa./Lower Merion). That pushed the lead to 18-9.
• Brandeis expanded their lead to 14 points on a Sherman jumper with just over three minutes remaining in the first that made it 34-20, and the Judges were able to maintain that lead through halftime at 40-26.
• Brandeis hit 47% from the field (15-32) and 60% from 3-point range (6-10) in the first half while holding UC to 37% (11-30) overall and 17% from deep (2-12). 
• Chicago looked to climb back into things by hitting their first two 3-pointers of the second half from Noah Karras and Dominic Laravie that cut the Brandeis lead to eight at 40-32.
• Judge grad student Latye Workman (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bedford Academy) responded with a traditional three-point play to reestablish the double-digit lead.
• The hosts were able to stay within eight to 11 points of the lead and were down, 48-40 with 13:28 remaining, but Brandeis sophomore Austin Clamage (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) hit a 3-pointer on the next possession and the Judges never trailed by fewer than 10 points the rest of the way.
• The Judges led by as many as 22 late in the second before taking the 20-point win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Sherman led all players with 17 points, 12 coming in the first half. He was 7-of-13 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 1-of-1 from the line.
• D'Aguanno came off the bench to score 15 points, all on 3-pointers.
• He hit 5-of-8 from downtown for his 11^th game of the season with at least four long balls.
• D'Aguanno is now has 173 career 3s, leaving him one trifecta shy of joining Brandeis's career top 5.
• He also tied his season-high with eight rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Lawrence Sabir (Providence, R.I./LaSalle Academy) also reached double-digits in scoring with 12 points – nine in the first half – while adding a game-high five assists.
• Sophomore Chandler Jones (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Commonwealth Academy) led the Judges with nine rebounds.
• Chicago's Laravie was the only Maroon to score in double digits, finishing with 15 points. No other UC player had more than seven.
• Cole Schmitz led all players with 10 rebounds, while Jordan Baum topped the hosts with four assists.
• Brandeis hit 12 3-pointers to just 5 for Chicago, connecting on 57% for the game (12-21), while holding the Maroons to 22% (5-23).
• Brandeis owned a slim 39-37 edge in rebounding and turnovers were even at 10-10. UC outscored Brandeis, 13-7, in points of the turnovers.
• Brandeis held the UAA's second-leading offense to 52 points, their second-lowest total of the season. UC had scored 71 points against Brandeis in Waltham and 114 in their previous contest last Sunday against Emory.
• The Judges complete a season sweep of Chicago for the first time since 2014-15, also the last time Brandeis won in the Windy City.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will head to Washington University to meet the Bears on Sunday at 11 a.m. Central time/12 noon Eastern.
• A win at WashU will give Brandeis wins over six of their seven UAA opponents this season and give them a winning conference record for the first time since 2012-13.