WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team saw an 11-point halftime lead disappear against the seventh-ranked University of Rochester Yellowjackets, but the Judges responded with the next seven points and never trailed again as they earned an 83-72 University Athletic Association victory in Red Auerbach Arena tonight.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 11-4, 3-1 UAA.
• Rochester, 12-3, 2-2 UAA, ranked #7 in D3hoops.com national poll.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brandeis got off to a lackluster start, committing several early turnovers as they fell behind, 14-6, less than five minutes into the contest.
• Rochester took a nine-point lead at 17-8 on a TC Price 3-pointers at the 14:16 mark.
• The Judges turned things around after coach Jean Bain called a timeout, scoring the game's next 18 points over a span of just more than five minutes.
• Sophomore Toby Harris (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) had 10 of Brandeis points in the stretch, capping it with a 3-pointer that made the score 26-17 with 9:07 to go.
• The Judges would lead by as many as 15 points in the first half before taking an 11-point edge into the locker room at 43-32.
• Harris and first-year Quron Zene (Windsor, Conn./IMG Academy) had 12 points each, while senior Sam Adusei (Worcester, Mass./St. George's School) led all players with 13, including seven in a row at one point.
• The Judges shot 63% (19-30) in the first half, while holding UR to 44% (11-25).
• Rochester came out in the second half with a tough defense. At point, they held the Judges to just one field goal in a span of 11 minutes.
• UR outscored the Judges, 24-12, over the first eleven-and-a-half minutes of the second half, eventually taking a 56-55 lead on a put-back from CJ Ansellem with 8:32 remaining.
• The Yellowjackets had two chances to extend that lead, but couldn't convert. With 7:35 left in the game, Brandeis first-year Ethan Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y./Woodstock Academy) was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer.
• Edwards hit 2-of-3 from the line to give the Judges the lead back and sparking a 7-0 run that ended with an Edwards three-point play that made it 62-56, with 6:47 to go.
• UR would creep within two on several occasions, but Brandeis never let the visitors tie things up.
• The 'Jackets were within 70-66 on a Ross Gang lay-up with 1:56 on the clock, but Brandeis answered with a back-breaking corner 3-pointer from Harris with 1:18 to go, and the seven-point margin was too much for the visitors to overcome as the Judges hit their free-throws down the stretch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Brandeis put four players in double figures in scoring for the fifth time this season.
• Harris led all scorers with 19 points, hitting 6-of-14 from the field, 3-of-7 from downtown, and 4-of-5 from the line. He also had six rebounds and three assists.
• Zene added 18 points, a new career-best, while leading all players with eight rebounds. He stuffed the stat sheet with three assists and three steals.
• Adusei also had a career-high with 18 points, while dishing out a team-high four assists and making a career-high four steals.
• Edwards netted 15 points, all in the second half, as he overcame 2-of-9 shooting from the field with an 11-of-12 performance from the line.
• Senior Terrell Brown (Lowell, Mass./Proctor Academy) matched his career-high with six rebounds.
• Ross Gang and Matt Wiele finished with 18 points for Rochester, while Price had 11 off the bench.
• Wiele, Gang and Dan Masino each had four rebounds for the visitors, while Wiele and Amsellem each had four assists and Gang had four steals.
• Rochester held Brandeis to 32% shooting (9-28) in the second half to lower the Judges' percentage to 48% for the game (28-58). Meanwhile, U R improved to 65% in the second (17-26) and 55% for the game (28-51).
• Brandeis had two more 3-pointers (6-4) and outscored Rochester, 21-12, from the line. The Judges also forced UR into 21 turnovers, converting them into 29 points, while the visitors had 20 points of 15 Brandeis miscues.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges improved to 2-1 this season against Top 25 opponents, having previously defeated then No. 18 NYU and fallen to then No. 7 Christopher Newport.
• The Judges have now won their first meeting of the season against UR for the fourth year in a row.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis will play their fourth Top 25 opponent of the season, #18 Emory, on Sunday at noon. Rochester will travel to NYU at the same time.
• At least a share of the UAA lead will be on the line, as Emory, Brandeis and Washington University each sit at 3-1 on the season.