WALTHAM, Mass. - Junior forward Terrell Hollins (Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) had game-highs with 18 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists tonight to lead the host Judges past 25th-ranked Rhode Island College, 75-61, in a non-conference match-up in Red Auerbach Arena. Brandeis won its third-straight to even their record at 3-3, while RIC fell to 3-2.
Hollins recorded his second double-double of the season and the seventh of his career with his fine performance. Sixteen of his 18 points came in the first half, when he and grad student Steve DeLuca (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) combined to outscore the Anchormen, 29-27, as the Judges owned a 40-27 advantage. Hollins hit 6-of-11 from the field in the first half and all four free throws. His 16 rebounds - including six offensive boards - was a career-bests, as were his seven assists, six of which came after the intermission.
DeLuca was Brandeis's second-leading scorer with 17 points, 13 of which came in the first half. The preseason All-American just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. He connected on 7-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-5 from downtown. All of his trifectas came in the first half. Junior guard Andre Roberson (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) also reached double figures with 14 points. Thirteen of Roberson's points came in the second half, including a 9-of-10 performance from the line. He finished with six assists.
The Judges also got a career-high 10 rebounds from sophomore forward Christian Yemga (Yaounde, Cameroon/Proctor Acad.), who started the game strongly. Yemga opened the scoring with a traditional three-point play and pulled down five rebounds and dished three assists in the first five minutes of the contest.
RIC put three players in double figures, led by senior guard Tirrell Hill (Bronx, N.Y./All Hallows) with 11 points. Hill shot just 5-of-14 from the field and just 1-of-8 from 3-point range. Senior Kaseem Johnson (New Haven, Conn./Hillhouse) and rookie Mason Choice (Newport, R.I./Rogers) each had 10. Johnson had a fine all-around performance off the bench, tying for team-high honors with nine rebounds - four offensive - and leading the Anchormen with five assists. Choice had six boards and two steals. Senior Wil Lyons (Warwick, R.I./Pilgrim) matched Johnson with nine boards.
Brandeis held RIC to 38.2% from the field (26-68), including 18.5% from downtown (5-27) while connecting on 42.9% overall (24-56) and 46.7% from range (7-15). They also owned a 44-33 rebounding advantage. Rhode Island College's reserves outscored Brandeis's, 21-9, and the visitors converted 15 Brandeis turnovers into a 16 points, outscoring the Judges 16-5 in points of turnovers.
Brandeis is next in action on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Emerson College, while RIC is at UMass-Boston at 3 p.m. for a Little East Conference game the same day.