The men’s basketball team improved to 3-0 this week, defeating Rhode Island College 85-58 on Saturday and University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 66-65 on Wednesday.

Brandeis 85, Rhode Island College 58

The Judges lost to the Anchormen 66-60 early last season without guard Robinson Vilmont ’17 or guard Latye Workman ’18. 

This season, with both players in the lineup, Brandeis came away with a victory as Vilmont scored a career-high 22 points and Workman grabbed six rebounds in a game in which the Judges never trailed. 

Brandeis began the game on a scoring run, as a free-throw from guard Tim Reale ’17 roughly five minutes into the game put the Judges up 9-2. Reale went on to score 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, grabbing three rebounds and tallying two assists and two steals.

Brandeis kept applying pressure on Rhode Island throughout the first half. Forward Jordan Cooper ’18 scored seven of his nine points in the first half and Brandeis ended the half on a 16-6 run to lead 40-26.

The second half was a similar story for the Judges. 

Vilmont and Reale led the Judges with eight second-half points each. For the game, Vilmont shot 9-of-14 from the field including 3-of-4 on three-pointers. 

He was quick to credit the team for his high-scoring performance.

“I played with the flow; I give credit to my teammates and coaching staff for calling the right plays that got me open. I still think I need to be more aggressive on the court,” Vilmont said.

As a team, the Judges had 10 players score at least one point. 

They shot 53.6 percent from the field, and limited Rhode Island to 36.4 percent. Brandeis outrebounded Rhode Island 39-27 and shot 25 free-throws compared to 18 for the visiting Rhode Island team. 

Rhode Island freshman forward Justin Campbell had 21 points and seven rebounds, but it was not enough, as Rhode Island fell to 1-2. 

Brandeis 66, UMass-Dartmouth 65

The Judges had three players score in double figures in the game, including Cooper, who scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. UMass-Dartmouth led 19-15 after 10 minutes, but Brandeis outscored the Corsairs 27-16 in the 10 minutes that followed as the Judges held a 36-31 lead at halftime. 

Vilmont had 11 first-half points as well as four rebounds, and Reale finished the half with eight points.

The Judges scored the first eight points of the second half as a shot from Cooper gave Brandeis a 44-31 lead, but UMass-Dartmouth responded with a seven point run of their own. Brandeis led 46-45 with 10 minutes remaining.

After two free-throws from Cooper increased the Judges lead to 62-55 with 4:24 remaining, UMass-Dartmouth cut the deficit to 63-61 with 2:26 left. 

Corsairs junior guard Jordan Rezendes, who scored a game-high 26 points, grabbed six rebounds and tallied three assists, capitalized on a Brandeis turnover and hit a three-pointer to give his team a 64-63 lead. 

Powell drew a foul in the Judges’ next possession, hitting both free-throws to give Brandeis a 65-64 lead with just over one minute remaining. Both teams then went a combined 2-of-10 from the free-throw line, and Brandeis held onto the win as Rezendes missed a last second shot. 

Brandeis shot 38.9 percent from the field, while UMass-Dartmouth shot 36.1 percent. 

Brandeis held the advantage in rebounding as they grabbed 44 rebounds compared to 39 for the Corsairs.

Vilmont said that though the team has depth, it needs to work harder defensively. “We have a well-balanced team; our only problem is staying focused on the defensive end of the court,” Vilmont said. “When we pressure the ball, it creates easy opportunities for fast-break points.”

The Judges play next on Tuesday as they host Lasell College at 6 p.m.

Last season, the squad fell to Lasell in a closely contested game that ended up in a 64-60 defeat. Cooper led the team in that game with 18 points and will look to have similar success if the Judges are to be victorious against their regional rival.