The men’s basketball team pushed their overall season record to 6-9 this past week after winning one of their three games.

The Judges dominated against Case Western Reserve University after a close loss against Carnegie Mellon University the previous game.  However, they were unable to carry that momentum with them as they dropped their next two games against the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis, respectively. 

Judges 61, WashU 88

Despite some shining performances, Brandeis ended the week with their second consecutive loss against Washington, 88-61.  The Judges were out-rebounded by the Washington squad 41 to 29 and had four more turnovers.  In addition, Brandeis was far less accurate from the field (36.2 percent to Washington’s 55.2 percent) and from behind the arc (26.9 percent to 41.2 percent).  As a result, the Judges were outscored by 11 in the first half and by 16 in the second half of the hard-fought game.

Forward Jordan Cooper ’18 led the charge for the Brandeis squad with a game-high 23 points.  Cooper also put in work on the other side of the floor, leading the team with seven rebounds and adding a block and a steal.  The Judges’ bench was also outstanding, led by guards Carlin Haymon ’18, Jack Fay ’17 and Latye Workman ’18.  The three guards combined for 23 points for the game and dominated the boards with 10 rebounds.

Judges 65, Chicago 75

Two days prior, Brandeis lost a very close battle against the University of Chicago 75-65.  The Judges were down by eight at the end of the first half, but were only outscored by two in the second half of the competitive game.  Chicago had better ball movement, tallying seven more assists and out-rebounding the Judges by eight boards to eventually come away with the victory.

Cooper once again was a stud for the Judges, leading the game with 21 points.  He shot 60 percent from behind the arc and also added seven rebounds on the day.  Guard Robinson Vilmont ’17 made his presence known with nine points, five assists and two steals, while forward Samuel Dowden ’17 asserted himself down low with seven rebounds.  

Judges 83, Case 66

Brandeis began their week last Sunday with an impressive 83-66   win over Case Western Reserve University.  The Judges were down by three after the first half but found new life going into the second half.  They came back with  new intensity and outscored Case Western by 20 points in the half, 51-31.  The Judges had nine more assists as a team than Case Western.  They also committed 12 fewer turnovers and took advantage of Case Western’s mistakes: The Judges scored 24 points more off turnovers than their opponent.

First year Eric D’Aguanno ’20 had himself a day to remember for the Judges off the bench with a team-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers made and a pair of steals on the other end.  Cooper was dominant once again with 17 points of his own, and was a monster on defense with three steals and a block.  Guard Tim Reale ’17 also had a very nice game, adding 11 points, four rebounds and two steals.  Vilmont was all over the court for the hard-working squad, tallying seven points and seven rebounds on the day.  

The Judges are showing drastic improvements this season after posting a 9-16 overall record last year.  They ended the 2015-2016 season on a seven-game losing streak and have not fallen into any similar skids since.  The squad can easily top a .500 record in the near future as they continue to grow as a team.

Brandeis will look to earn their third conference win of the season and even their conference record to .500 on Friday at Emory University.

The Judges have gone 2-3 over the winter break, losing in close games to Bates College and Carnegie Mellon University. The two wins came against conference rivals New York University and Dean College on the road. 

The team had a rough December, winning only one game during the stretch, but have come back with three wins already during the month of January. 

With the nine full games against conference opponents, the Judges will need to improve their offense and shut down on defense to move up the conference rankings. 

The Judges will need to erase their losses against Carnegie Mellon University, Washington University and the University of Chicago to make a lasting impact.