The men's basketball season started off with a bang on Saturday, as the Judges dominated on both sides of the ball during a 111-59 victory over the Curry College Colonels at the Red Auerbach Arena. In the win, the Judges scored the most points ever under coach Brian Meehan, and the 52 point win is the biggest in 59 years.

It was not as if the game was supposed to be this easy for Brandeis. Curry went 21-8 last season and lost by two points in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Brandeis' victory, however, was effortless.

Rookie point guard Robinson Vilmont '17 said the large margin of victory was because of good defense and playing hard.

"It came down to defense and rebounding," he said. "We outrebounded Curry and didn't turn the ball over too much."

The Judges finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds and won the battle of the boards 56-36. They only turned the ball over 11 times, while forcing 15 turnovers by the Colonels.
After some first minute jitters and an 11-8 lead with 15 minutes, 4 seconds to go, Brandeis went on a 17-0 run to basically put the game out of reach, culminating in guard Derek Retos '14 hitting two three pointers to end the run with a 28-8 lead. The Judges finished the half with a 62-31 lead and the game was never in doubt from that point forward.

The second half was more of the same as Brandeis kept building the lead. The starters played just a few minutes in the second half, giving the crowd a chance to witness forward Kevin Trotman's '16 athleticism.

Trotman showed off on both ends of the court, starting with a great block after a turnover. A few plays later he drove to the basket and put in a giant reverse dunk, sending the crowd into a round of frenzied cheers.

Ten players came off the bench for the Judges and nobody saw fewer than eight minutes of playing time. Every member of the Judges who entered the game scored.

Vilmont commented on how he coped with the build up to his first career game.

"My mindset was to hustle and play great overall defense," he said. "I was successful because I put pressure on their point guard and rebounded the ball well."

Meehan started four guards in the game, and this will probably be a trend all season long. Guard Ben Bartoldus '14 was the second tallest player in the lineup at a mere six feet two inches. Vilmont and Colby Smith '16 are both point guards, and Gabe Moton '14 has played some point in the past. Forward Alex Stoyle '14, the lone big man, rounded out the starting five.

Despite the small lineup, the Judges managed to play stout interior defense and outrebound Curry by a large margin. Vilmont was encouraged by the interesting lineup Meehan decided to employ.

"I like it," he said. "It takes a lot of pressure off of me. All of our guards are skilled enough to take the ball up and push it up the court since we are an up-tempo team."

Bartoldus led the way for the Judges with 15 points. Vilmont scored 13 and had six rebounds. Moton recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while dishing out five assists. Retos came off the bench to connect on four triples and finished with 15 points.

The Judges play at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth tonight, with two home games later this week.
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