The first half was dominated by the Judges who opened the game on a 21-9 run over the first eight minutes of the game, punctuated by a 3-pointer from senior guard Tyrone Hughes (Dorchester, Mass./ Taft School) with one second left on the shot clock. Carnegie Mellon could only get within nine points of Brandeis at 28-19 on a layup by sophomore guard Rashaun Riley (Houston, Texas/ Cyprus Creek) before the Judges closed the half on an 18-2 run. Brandeis had terrific bench play the whole half as sophomore guard Anthony Trapasso (Sterling, Mass./ St. John's Prep) had two three-pointers and eight points total in that run to end the first half giving the Judges a 46-21 lead.

The second half was a different story as the Tartans roared back into the game thanks mostly to a sloppy Brandeis squad that after turning the ball over just six times in the first half committed twice as many turnovers in the second. With 3:11 remaining in the game, a jumper by Riley cut the Judges' lead to just nine, but Carnegie Mellon would get no closer as junior guard Jay Freeman (Dorchester, Mass./ St. Mark's School) helped ice the game with a layup and four free throws.

 

Brandeis was led by Kriskus with 17 points while Hughes had 13, sophomore guard Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./ Brimmer and May School) had 12 on 4-5 shooting from downtown, Freeman had 11, and sophomore forward Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./ St. Rivers School (R.I.)) had 11 rounding out the five Judges in double figures. Dascy, Kriskus, and sophomore forward Alex Schmidt (Dublin, Ireland/ Fork Union Military Acad. (Va.)) were tied for the team lead with six rebounds while Schmidt also led the team with two blocks. Hughes led Brandeis with six assists and Freeman led the squad with four steals, a career high. Brandeis had their third best shooting performance of the season 28-48 from the field for a red hot 58.3%.

 

The Tartans were led by sophomore forward Christian Manoli (San Rafael, Calif./ Terra Linda) and junior guard Andre Moore (Bowie, Md./ Archbishop Spalding) who scored 21 and 19 points respectively. Manoli also tied for the team lead with sophomore forward Sean Brophy (Blue Bell, Pa./ St. Joseph's Prep)  as they pulled down five rebounds apiece. Sophomore guard Asad Meghani (Carrolton, Texas/ Greenhill School) tied with Manoli for the team lead with three assists while Moore led the Tartans with three steals. Finally, senior forward Joe Kromka (Monroeville, Pa./ Gateway) led the team with two blocks.

Brandeis will continue their UAA schedule on the road against the Case Western Reserve University Spartans on Friday, February 3^rd. Carnegie Mellon will return home to face the New York University Violets in UAA action on Friday, February 3^rd.