ST. LOUIS, Mo.- The Brandeis Men's basketball team dropped their second consecutive University Athletic Association contest 80-54 to the Washington University in St. Louis Bears. The Bears shot a season best 56% from the field including 8-15 from behind the arc. The Judges were led by sophomore guard Ben Bartoldus (Hillsborough, N.H./ Proctor Acad. (N.H.)) with 15 points but no other scorer reached double figures as they fell to 8-7 (2-2 UAA). Washington University improved to 12-3 and extended their undefeated UAA record to 4-0.
Brandeis stayed in the game for the first half despite shooting just 2-12 from 3-point range. The Judges were 9-12 from the line and 10-26 from the field for a 10 point deficit at the end of that first period. Brandeis' biggest lead of the game was five points just 1 minute and 11 seconds into the game before the Bears rallied to take the lead with an 8-0 run after trailing 10-8 with 16:22 left in the half. Despite Washington University shooting a lights out 60% from the field, the Judges went into the locker room with a manageable deficit of 41-31.
The second half was a different story with the Judges continuing their cold shooting from behind the arc going 2-8 while only getting to the line for six attempts as the Bears continued their hot shooting going 17-32 from the field and 5-7 from three-point range. Normally exceptional 3-point shooter Derek Retos was 0-5 from downtown while the Judges as a team shot a poor 4-20. The Judges were outscored 39-23 in the half as they fell 80-54.
Bartoldus was the only Brandeis player who scored in double figures with 15 while senior guard Vytas Kriskus (Kvedarna, Lithuania/ Holderness School (N.H.)) led the team with seven rebounds and was tied for second on the team in scoring with classmate Tyrone Hughes (Dorchester, Mass./ Taft School) at nine points for the contest. Hughes and Kriskus were also tied for the team lead with three assists.
Washington University was led by senior guard Dylan Richter (Lincolnshire, Ill./ Adlai E. Stevenson) with 17 points and sophomore guard Alan Aboona (Wheeling, Ill./ St. Viator) who contributed 16 points. The Judges next travel to the University of Chicago on January 22nd for a UAA contest while the Bears stay home to play NYU in UAA action on January 22nd.