SECOND HALF RALLY FALLS SHORT FOR BRANDEIS MEN AGAINST CARNEGIE MELLON IN 70-66 UAA DEFEAT

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis  men's basketball trailed by as many as 19 points late in the first half, and the Judges couldn't quite come all the way back as they suffered a 70-66 defeat at the hands of University Athletic Association (UAA) foe Carnegie Mellon in Auerbach Arena tonight. With the loss, the Judges fall to 5-7 overall, 1-1 in the UAA, while the Tartans improve to 8-5, 2-0 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• CMU got off to a quick start, hitting their first four shots, including two 3-pointers, to take an early 10-5 lead.
• After the Tartans' Ryan Maha hit a trifecta and Jack Serbin followed with a lay-up, the vistors established their first double-digit lead at 15-5 with 13:49 left in the first.
• Still leading by 10 at 19-9, Carnegie Mellon went on a 12-3 run that pushed the lead to 31-12 with 5:29 to go after a Chris Shkil lay-up. The 19-point advantage was the visitors' largest of the game
• The Judges didn't go quietly in the first stanza, as they closed on a 14-7 run to get within 38-26 on a late three-point play by senior guard Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wibraham and Monson).
• Brandeis continued its run into the second half, with another three-point play, this time by senior forward Tim Reale (Mason, Ohio/St. Andrews, R.I., School) at the 17:16 mark, cutting the deficit back to single digits at 39-31.
• After two Serbin free throws, Brandeis scored six unanswered points, three each from Vilmont and Reale, getting the Judges within four points at 41-37 just under seven minutes into the period.
• The teams traded points on the next three possessions before another and-one possession, this time by junior Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School) got Brandeis within three, 45-42, with 11:28 to go.
• CMU answered with the next five points of the game, pushing the lead back to eight on Thomas Cook's trifecta.
• The lead fluctuated between four and six over the next few minutes before a deep Nate Meehan (Lowell, Mass./Phillips Andover) 3-pointers got the hosts within one possession at 56-53.
• The Tartans looked to wrap it up again when Patrick Ehland hit one-of-two from the line with 3:48 to go, making it another eight-point game at 63-55.
• Cooper answered with a pair of foul shots, and Reale hit a driving lay-up to cut the deficit in half at 63-59.
• Junior Carlin Haymon (Boston, Mass./Rivers Schol) then picked a CMU player's pocket and drove to the hoop to get Brandeis back within two at 63-61 with 2:41 left.
• The Judges got a stop on the next possession but couldn't convert on the other end, and the Tartans scored the game's next three points from the line.
• Meehan answered again from beyond the arc, making it 66-64, CMU, with 1:14 to go.
• The Judges forced the Tartans into an off-balance shot on the next possession, and senior Sam Dowden (Andover, Mass./Andover) tied up the rebound with the arrow favoring Brandeis and under a minute to go.
• Brandeis worked the ball around the perimeter to rookie Eric D'Aguanno (Saunderstown, R.I./St. Andrew's School), who had an open look from the left elbow, but came up just short.
• CMU hit one of two from the line, and the Judges got a Cooper lay-in with 17 seconds left. Serbin hit two last free throws but the Judges' last-ditch effort was off the mark as the Tartans escaped with the win.

FOR THE JUDGES

• Reale, who leads the UAA in field-goal percentage hit 8-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line to match his career-high in scoring with 20 points.
• Cooper finished with 14 points, while Vilmont had 12.
• Vilmont also led all players with four assists and tied for team-high honors with six rebounds.
• Meehan finished with nine points thanks to three 3-pointers.

FOR THE TARTANS

• Serbin led all players with his eighth double-double of the season. He had game-highs of 25 points and 11 rebounds. He also paced the visitors with three assists.
• Shkil added 13 points and Maha had 10.
• Shkil also had six boards and two blocked shots.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• CMU opened up their big lead by hitting 50 percent in the first half (15-30) but hit just 36 percent in the second (9-25).
• Brandeis, meanwhile, improved from 38 percent (11-29) to 46 percent (13-28), but it wasn't enough.
• The Judges had hit 12 3-pointers in each of their previous two games, but hit just 4-of-20 tonight.
• Brandeis had won 10 in a row against Carnegie Mellon at home in Red Auerbach Arena, dating back to 2006.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will meet Case Western Reserve University on Sunday at noon.