The Brandeis men's basketball team fell to the Lasell College Lasers 67-58 in the championship game on Sunday of the Brandeis Invitational. Lasell, which dismantled Anna Maria College in the semifinal round (78-56), employed a relentless pressure defense, often flustering the Judges with a full-court press and a run-and-gun gameplan.
The trio of forwards Stern Chamberlain and Napoleon Sandeford, as well as center Demetrius DeJesus, gave Brandeis fits all game long, combining for 44 points. Laser guards Maxwell Perez, a freshman, and fellow first-year Steve Martinez controlled the tempo for the visitors, hounding Brandeis point guard Stu Pradia '05 up and down the court.
The game was tight throughout the first half, with Brandeis trailing by just three (21-18) with four minutes to go before halftime. After the Judges had cut the Lasell lead to just one with a minute to go, the Lasers responded with two trifecta's from Chamberlain, one of which followed a controversial three-second call on Brandeis center Bryan Lambert '04.
Brandeis came out focused in the second half and went on a quick 4-0 run to slice Lasell's margin to three. A jumper by sharpshooter Omri Ayalon '05, who paced Brian Meehan's squad with a game-high 18 points, was followed by a finger roll by Tim Deihl '04 and a fast-break lay-up by Tri-captain Glenn Wright '05. (Hampered by early foul trouble, Wright had just eight points on the night).
Wright, who had trouble penetrating against the Lasers' stingy defense, drew the ire of Meehan when he failed to convert near the hoop at a crucial point in the contest.
Despite another three pointer from Ayalon with eleven minutes to play, cutting the Lasell lead to one, Brandeis wouldn't get any closer. With the shot-clock winding down after an impressive defensive stand by the Judges with four minutes remaining in regulation, Lasell's Perez drained a long three that dashed any hopes of a comeback.
According to Lambert, the Judges' press break scheme was hurt by the fact that Deihl was ailing and Brandeis' own tentative play.
"I think we made the game tougher than it was against Lasell's pressure," Lambert said.
"We need to just be solid with the ball and make better decisions."
"We allowed Lasell to dictate the flow of the game with our turnovers," Lambert added.
"Those really hurt our momentum, but I don't think their intensity was too much to handle."
"We lost the Lasell game by ourselves," Lambert continued. "But I'm sure we'll work on taking care of the ball before our next game."
On Saturday against Newbury College (the Nighthawks were 14-11 last season), Meehan captured his first victory with Brandeis, as the Judges cruised to an 84-75 win. Brandeis' starting lineup, which was composed of two seniors (Lambert and Deihl) as well as three juniors (Wright, Ayalon and Pradia), set the tone early, as Brandeis jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the crowd was settled.
After Lambert showed off his versatility with a baby hook and two mid-range jumpers, Deihl scored off a steal. Newbury, which relied heavily upon the three-point marksmanship of forward Loren Green (who scored 19 points, including a 30-foot buzzer beater to end the first half), seemed to fall flat in the face of a determined Brandeis defense.
With Ayalon (who finished with 18 points), Lambert (who scored a team-best 28) and Tri-captain Greg Kristof '04 (who hit two three's) leading the way, Brandeis took a five-point lead into the locker room (45-40).
The Judges stretched the lead out in the second half, going up 62-50 with eleven minutes to play. As Newbury sank further behind, tempers on the opposing side began to flare, as sophomore guard Roland Matthews wrestled with Ayalon for a loose ball along the Brandeis sideline. Officials had to separate the two, as Matthews started jawing with his own teammate - guard Matthew Stanton - before Newbury coach Adam Nelson removed him from the game.
The large margin of victory allowed Meehan to give forward Jeff Barbosa '07 some quality playing time, and the first-year responded with eleven points and three assists. Shane Williams '06 also contributed, spelling Pradia at point guard for a little over five minutes.
The Judges square off with NEWMAC rival Wheaton College tonight at 7 p.m. in Gosman.
The Lyons also split a pair of tournament contests this past weekend at the Coca-Cola Classic at Stonehill. Head coach Brian Walmsley's team dropped a three-point decision to St. Thomas Aquinas before defeating Rhode Island College 86-77.
Walmsley is entering his seventh season as the head man at Wheaton, where he's compiled a career record of 89-70.
Last season he led the Lyons to the semifinal round of the ECAC Tournament, as Wheaton won an impressive 19 games.