PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Senior forward Terrell Hollins (Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) recorded his sixth-straight double-double with 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to lead the 19th-ranked Brandeis University men's basketball team past host Carnegie Mellon, 62-43, in a University Athletic Association contest today. With the win, Hollins, along with classmates Andre Roberson (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson), Richard Magee (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) and Kenny Small (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) earned their 76th career win, the most of any senior class in Brandeis history.
The teams started out as cold as the temperatures in the Steel City, going more than three minutes without scoring. Brandeis (15-4, 6-3 UAA) trailed early, 9-6, following a 3-pointer by CMU senior guard Jack Anderson (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls). The Judges answered with the game's next eight points, taking a 14-9 lead on sophomore Tyrone Hughes's fast-break lay-up on a feed from Roberson at the 12:01 mark and the visitors never trailed again. The Tartans got within one, 18-17, on an Andre Moore (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) trifecta at the 6:13 mark of the first, but Brandeis answered again, scoring nine of the next 11 points. Hollins had four rebounds in the stretch, while sophomore Vytas Kriskus (Kvedarna, Lithuania/Holderness School) had four points. The Judges took a 29-22 lead into the break after a pair of late free throws by Hollins, who had 10 boards and four points before the break, while Small had seven points to top the Judges. Sophomore John Duhring (Round Hill, Va./St. Maria Goretti) had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the first to lead all players.
Carnegie Mellon (4-16, 0-9 UAA) came out strong in the second half, opening on an 8-4 run to close within three, 33-30, after junior Matthew Pettit (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) hit a free throw at the 16:18 mark of the second. Brandeis reestablished control, but was unable to pull away until the end of the contest. After a steal and Pettit lay-up left in regulation got the Tartans within four, 47-43, with 5:15 left on the clock, the Judges scored the game's final 15 points to pull away with the win. Hollins had five points, two boards and an assist in the stretch, finishing with 13 of his 17 points in the second half.
Hollins, who hit just one of seven shots in the first half, finished with a 4-of-7 performance in the second. He also connected on all seven of his free throws. Eight of his 11 rebounds came on the offensive glass, including five after the break. With 30 points and 30 rebounds this weekend, Hollins has moved into 25th on the Judges' career scoring list with 1,031 points and 14th on the career rebounding list with 583 caroms. He now has nine double-doubles this season and 17 for his career.
Three other players reached double figures for the Judges, as Small finished with 12 points, Kriskus with 11 off the bench and Hughes had 10. Roberson had a game-high seven assists and now stands fourth on Brandeis's all-time list with 336. The Judges outrebounded CMU, 41-33, and held the hosts to just 30.4% from the floor (17-56) while connecting on 42.1% (24-57).
Carnegie Mellon was paced by 13 points each by Pettit - who scored 11 in the second half- and Duhring, while senior Jon Wolleben (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) led the Tartans with 12 rebounds, a career-best. Duhring and Wolleben also tied for game-high honors with three blocked shots.
Brandeis is next in action on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. when the Judges play their final non-conference contest of the season against Amherst College.