The men’s basketball team opened play against University Athletic Association opponents with a 57-54 victory over New York University on Saturday, boosted by a season-high 23 points from center John Powell ’17. The Judges closed their non-conference schedule last Tuesday with a 60-55 loss to Bates College and hold a 6-6 overall record on the season.

Brandeis welcomed NYU to the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center and immediately saw NYU junior guard Evan Kupferberg score eight of his 12 first-half points in the game’s opening six minutes. The Judges played from behind for most of the half, only once taking the lead on a three-pointer from guard Robinson Vilmont ’17 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the half. Powell led the way with 10 points on 4-of-6 field goals in the half.

The Judges began the second half on a 7-0 run, turning a 30-25 deficit into a 32-30 lead in fewer than four minutes, grabbing the lead on a pair of free throws from forward Jordan Cooper ’18. 

By the 10 minute mark of the half, the two teams were locked in a back-and-forth affair, trading the lead three times before a Vilmont layup tied the game at 42 with 9:48 left in the contest. 

NYU went on a 7-2 run after Vilmont’s layup, taking a 49-44 lead with 4:41 remaining in the contest. From that point, the Judges closed the game on an 11-5 run to seal the victory. Trailing 51-50 with 2:40 remaining, the Judges’ defense held the visitors without a point until 13 seconds left, when an NYU three-pointer made the game 55-54 in favor of the hosts. Powell ended the game with a pair of free throws to ice it for the Judges, giving Brandeis its first conference win of the season. 

Guard Carlin Haymon ’18 added seven points and a rebound off the bench, seeing 18 minutes of game action. Haymon is averaging 7.5 points and 20.3 minutes per game. Cooper grabbed four of the team’s 30 rebounds and added nine points for the Judges.

Last Tuesday, the Judges traveled to Maine to take on an 8-1 Bates team but could not overcome 14 bench points for the hosts in a 60-55 loss. Cooper netted a season-high 28 points on 9-16 from the field and 4-9 from beyond the arc, but was one of just two Brandeis players to score more than 10 points.

Brandeis outshot Bates 38.8-38.3 in field goal percentage, though the hosts netted 40.9 percent of their three-pointers while the Judges were able to sink just 37.5 percent. Bates also controlled the glass for most of the contest, pulling down 35 rebounds—10 of which were offensive rebounds—to Brandeis’ 29, of which only six were on the offensive side of the ball. 

The Judges began the game on a 5-3 run over the game’s first 90 seconds but fell behind at the 16:29 mark of the first half, Brandeis battled back from a 30-28 deficit at the half with a 9-7 run over the first five minutes of the second half to tie the contest at 37. Powell netted six points and grabbed a pair of rebounds during the run while Cooper cashed in a pair of free throws. 

Brandeis held a 52-50 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the contest, but the hosts turned four Judges’ fouls into seven points to seal the victory. 

The squad will continue UAA play on the road at Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University this weekend, taking on Carnegie Friday at 8 p.m and Case Sunday at noon.