WALTHAM, Mass.- In their home opener, the Brandeis Men's basketball team cruised to an 87-59 win in non-conference play over the UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs. Three Judges reached double-figures, led by junior guard Ben Bartoldus (Hillsborough, N.H./ Proctor Acad. ,N.H.) who tallied a team-high 14 points. Brandeis evens their record at 1-1 while the Corsairs fall to 0-3.

In the first half, the Judges broke the game open with a 19-4 run after trailing 4-2 at the 18:59 mark. A trio of juniors led the way as Bartoldus, center Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./ St. Andrews School, R.I.), and forward Alex Stoyle (Goffstown, N.H./ Tilton School) combined for 15 points during that go-ahead spurt. UMD was able to cut the deficit to nine at 23-14 on a free throw by sophomore guard Mike Rotando (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J./ Point Pleasant Beach) with 10:30 minutes left in the period. The Corsairs would not get any closer than that as Brandeis continued to pull away and held a 46-32 advantage at the break thanks to a scorching hot offense that owned a 20-8 edge in points in the paint and shot 60.7% from the field.

In the second half, the Judges did not let up, opening the period on a 12-0 run featuring three-pointers from junior guard Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./ Brimmer and May School) and Bartoldus as junior transfer guard Gabe Moton (St. Petersburg, Fla./ St. Petersburg) compiled four points, a rebound, and an assist during the offensive onslaught. Other second half highlights included a three-point play the hard way by junior forward Connor Arnold (Andover, Mass./ Deerfield Acad.) to give Brandeis a 64-39 lead, a thunderous one-handed dunk by sophomore forward Ishmael Khalilou (Windsor, Conn./ Taft School) to extend the Judges lead to 84-57, and finally a shot from downtown by sophomore guard James Coner (Pembroke, Mass./ Pembroke) to give Brandeis its largest lead and the 87-59 final tally. Playing a huge part in the blowout was the Judges bench, who outscored the Corsairs reserves, 34-17.

For Brandeis, 14 different players recorded a basket with Bartoldus leading a trio of players in double-digits with 14 points. Moton and Dascy each had 11 points while Retos added nine. Stoyle led the squad with 10 rebounds and fell one bucket shy of a double-double as he and senior center Wouter van der Eng (Alphen aun der Rijn, the Netherlands/ Kimball Union Acad. ,N.H.) each had eight points. Moton tied for game-high honors with five assists while Stoyle and rookie guard Colby Smith (No. Andover, Mass./ No. Andover) each recorded four helpers. Retos, Moton, and rookie guard Ryne Williams (Houston, Texas/ George Bush) also shared team-high honors with two steals apiece.

For UMass-Dartmouth, junior guard John Genkos (Worcester, Mass./ Doherty) had a game-high 20 points on 6-9 shooting from the field including 4-6 from downtown and 4-4 from the line. Sophomore center Alex Rodrigues (Fall River, Mass./ Durfee) joined him in double-digits with 14 points and pulled down five boards along with rookie guard Jacek Louisville (Worcester, Mass./ Holy Name) to tie for the team lead. Genkos also led the squad with five assists while junior guard Jordan Grace (Cambridge, Mass/ Rindge & Latin HS) recorded two steals.

The Judges continue their season Saturday November 24^th against Tufts in Red Auerbach Arena with a 7:00 p.m. tip off as they host the Big Four Tournament. The Corsairs stay on the road for a game at Bridgewater State on Tuesday November 27^th with a 7:00 p.m. tip off.