BOSTON, Mass. – The 25th-ranked Brandeis University men's basketball team cut a 20-point deficit to nine with about three minutes left in regulation tonight, but the Judges could not get any closer as they suffered an 84-72 loss at Emerson College. The Judges fall to 1-1 with the loss while the Lions improve to 1-1.
The Judges put four players in double digits in scoring, paced by graduate student Tommy Eastman (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima), who netted a 19 points, tops in his brief Brandeis career. Eastman scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half. He shot 8-of-14 for the game, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Eastman also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and was one of four players with two assists. Grad student Collin Sawyer (New London, Conn./New London) netted 12 of his 15 points in the second half, but needed 4-of-15 overall and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc to get there. Junior transfer Terrell Brown (Lowell, Mass./Proctor Academy) and junior Dylan Lien (Northborough, Mass./Worcester Academy) each finished with 10 points. Brown finished with six rebounds, second on the team, and added a pair of assists.
Emerson also put four players in double figures, with Zach Waterhouse netting a game-high 21 points, 11 coming in the first half and 10 in the second. Nate Martin added 18 points, while Jarred Houston scored 14 and had a game-high nine rebounds. Max Davis had 13 points and a game-high four assists off the bench for the Lions. Emerson outshot Brandeis from the field for the game, 50 percent (33-66) to 35 percent (24-68).
The first half featured seven early lead changes, the last coming after Davis answered an Eastman lay-up with one of his own to make it 16-15 in favor of the home team at the 13:18 mark. That bucket sparked a 14-4 run over the next five minutes that gave Emerson a 28-19 lead when Davis took a rebound coast-to-coast. Eastman looked to slow the Lions' momentum with a 3-pointer, but the hosts connected from downtown on their next two buckets to establish a double-digit lead. Emerson would close the half on another run, holding Brandeis without a field goal over the final 4:35 for a 10-4 run and 49-30 lead at the half. Emerson shot 50 percent from the field (17-34) and forced the Judges into nine turnovers while committing only three of their own.
Brandeis made a couple of surges in the second half, getting within 11 points in the early going after a Toby Harris (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) fast-break lay-up made it 60-49 with 13:00 on the clock, but the Judges couldn't take advantage of a defensive stop to close within single digits. The Lions maintained the 10-point lead until Lien hit a trifecta with 2:54 to go, but the Judges couldn't get any closer.
Brandeis will return to action on Tuesday, November 23rd at 7 p.m. when they meet UMass Dartmouth.