WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team took its first home loss of the season tonight as the Judges dropped an 88-76 decision to rivals Babson College in Red Auerbach Arena.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 7-2.
• Babson, 6-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game was a tale of two halves. Brandeis led by as many as 10 points in the first half thanks to some hot 3-point shooting.
• The Judges connected on 8-of-11 from downtown (72.7%) and 14-of-24 overall (58.3%) as they took a 38-34 lead into the locker room.
• Babson hung around by shooting 50% on their own in the first (15-30), but hit just two 3-pointers (2-5, 40%).
• The Beavers scored the first eight points of the second half, taking a 42-38 lead on an Aaron Gao 3-pointer.
• Brandeis answered when senior Dylan Lien (Northborough, Mass./Worcester Acad.) dialed long distance twice in a row to give the Judges a 44-42 lead with 16:30 on the clock.
• The teams traded points on the next three possession, with two Toby Harris (Durham, N.C./Durham Acad.) free throws tying the game at 46-all with 15:11 to go.
• Babson answered with the game's next 10 points, and the Beavers never relinquished the lead. Ryan Cibull capped the run for the visitors with a traditional three-point play.
• The Judges would get within six a couple of times down the stretch, but Babson held off their runs.
• The Beavers outscored the Judges, 54-38, in the second half. The visitors were even hotter after the intermission, shooting 58.8% from the field (20-34), while the Judges cooled down to 40.9% (9-22) and just 37.5% (3-8) from deep.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Harris was the team's leading scorer for the eighth time in nine games this season, scoring 23 points. He had 13 in the first half, when he went 4-5 from 3-point range, including a four-point play.
• Harris also led the Judges with seven rebounds on the night, tied for game-high honors.
• Lien came off the bench to score 20 points, a career-best. He hit 6-of-10 overall, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-4 from the line.
• Lien scored 15 of his 20 in the second half.
• First-year guard Ethan Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Woodstock Acad.) added 15 points, nine after the break.
• Junior Ryan Power (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) had five assists to lead the Judges.
• Babson put four players in double digits in scoring. Andrew Kirkpatrick led the visitors with 18 points off the bench, 10 coming in the second half. Nate Amado had 16 points and seven boards, while Gao had 15 points and Cibull added 10.
• John Gorgol tied Amado and Harris for game-high with seven rebounds.
• Kirkpatrick, Cibull and Amado each had five assists, as the Beavers had helpers on 18 of their 35 baskets
• Rebounding and turnovers were key in the contest, with Babson outrebounding the Judges, 31-24 including 9-2 on the offensive boards. Turnovers were 11-3 in favor of the Beavers, translating to a 15-0 margin in points off those miscues in a 12-point game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Brandeis had won all three of its home games this season and five in a row dating back to last season.
• Babson cut Brandeis's lead in the all-time series to 25-21.
• It marked the second time this season that the Judges had two 20-point scorers in one game (Nov. 28 vs Emerson).
• Harris has scored 20 or more points in all but one game this season.  

UP NEXT

• The Judges are done for the semester. Their next game is a home contest on Friday, December 30^th against Westfield State University at 7 p.m.