As of Sunday evening, the men’s basketball team had won two out of the first three games of the 2018-19 season. The game on the evening of Monday, Nov. 19 will be reported on in the next issue of the Justice, but the final score and a summary of the game’s action are available on the University’s Athletics website as well.


Judges 54, Bates 48

The Judges won their game against the Bates College Bobcats. The first half of the game left the Judges three points behind the Bobcats. Collin Sawyer ’20 started the game, quickly scoring the first points with a three-point shot, and Nick Gilpin of Bates responded with a jump shot that put the Bobcats on the scoreboard. The first half continued with back and forth action and several changes in the lead. The teams both struggled to maintain any sort of  lead, and there were tied scores at several points. However, at the conclusion of the first half, the Judges were behind, and the score was 24–27 in favor of Bates College.

Once the game returned for the second half, the Judges came back and fought hard, despite the challenge that the Bobcats presented the team. Chandler Jones ’21 scored the first points of the half with a layup that was shortly followed by a free throw. These shots by Jones were enough to tie the score at 27. Once again, following the Judges’ initial shots, the teams exchanged leads for much of the half. However, once Sam Nassar ’22 made a layup that put the Judges ahead 39–37 with 9:47 left, the Judges never trailed again and pulled ahead to take the victory 54–48.


Judges 69, Suffolk 71

The Judges suffered their first loss of the season against the Suffolk University Rams. The game was an intense matchup with six ties and a total of 13 lead changes over the course of the game. The victory came down to the last second, literally, as the Rams scored their winning shot with five-tenths of a second left on the clock to take the 71–69 win. The first half of play began in a very back-and-forth nature, with two ties and 10 lead changes within the first 15 minutes. In the last six minutes of the half, though, the Judges pulled ahead after a 16–4  run that left the score 35–24 in the half  of  the game. 

However, in the second half, the Rams pulled out all the stops, scoring an impressive 12 of their first 15 shots in the half. The score was tied at 50 points when there was 11:19 left of play. However, Suffolk led the game with 5:47 left of play with a score of 61–55. Brandeis got within one point of the Rams as sophomore Chandler Jones scored a foul shot and left the score 65–64. With 1:34 left of the game, the score was tied again at 66. A free throw by Eric D’aguanno ’21 set the Judges ahead at 67–66. Suffolk answered, and with 41 seconds left, they scored a layup that put them back in the lead. After the Judges called a full time out, the game resumed, and after Suffolk’s Thomas Duffy made a free throw, a layup with seven seconds left by graduate student Latye Workman tied the score at 69. However, within the last second of play, a layup by Suffolk’s Brendan Mulson led to the victory for the Rams.

Lawrence Sabir ’21 told the Justice about the team’s work ethic and preparation for the season. He said, “The team has been working really hard every day — we focus on taking advantage of the opportunity we have to be the best team in the UAA this season.” Additionally, he feels that the team has made a great deal of progress already and said “It’s a different team with Coach Bain — he has changed the culture of the team in the matter of one month. I feel [that] in this last month, we’ve accomplished more than [we did] last season.”

The Judges will take on many teams in the months ahead, both members and non-members of the University Athletic Association. In December, the Judges will take on The Salem State University Vikings on Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. The very next day, the men will turn around and play either Tufts University or Babson College   — the school was undecided as of press time — according to the Brandeis Athletics website. On Thursday, Dec. 6, the Judges will then face Becker College at Becker College at the Red Auerbach Arena. On Saturday, Dec. 8 the team will take on Wesleyan University and will play the following Tuesday against the Emerson College Lions.  The final game of December is on Dec. 31, against Bowdoin College.

In January, the Judges will play New York University, Amherst College, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Chicago, Washington University in Saint Louis, Emory University and the University of Rochester on Jan. 5, Jan. 7, Jan. 11, Jan. 13, Jan. 18, Jan. 20, Jan. 25 and Jan. 27, respectively. In the month of February, the team will face UAA rivals, many of which the Judges will be playing for the second time this season. They will play against Emory University, the University of Rochester, Case Western Reserve, the University of Chicago, Washington University in Saint Louis and NYU on Feb. 1, Feb. 3, Feb. 8, Feb. 10, Feb. 15, Feb. 17 and Feb. 23, respectively.