This season, the men’s basketball team started the season on Nov. 3, playing the University of Saint Joseph. Although this game ended  in a loss of 63–76 for the team, the Judges have a long season to come. The squad came back in the second game, conquering the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a score of 63–56. The Judges are 1–1 for the season so far.

University of St. Joseph

The game against the University of St. Joseph Blue Jays was an exhibition. The first half of the game resulted in a score of 29–23,in favor of the Blue Jays. The game began with a turnover by a St. Joseph’s player followed by a foul by Chandler Jones ’21, followed by a turnover by Jones. After that, the Blue Jays made the first shot of the game, a three-point shot. In the second half of the game, the Judges scored a  total of 40 points and the Blue Jays 47 points. However, the game ended with a score of 76–63 and the Blue Jays dominated the Judges. The Judges had a free throw percentage of 62.5 percent while St. Joseph had a percentage of 62.1 percent. The Judges had 17 turnovers throughout the course of the game, while the Blue Jays had 22. The biggest lead in the game was when University of St. Joseph was ahead by 15 points. The Judges had a three-point percentage of 30.0 percent, lower than University of St. Joseph, who had 35.3 percent. 

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

The first official game of the season was played at Brandeis against The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Following the first seven points of the game, the Judges were able to maintain the lead for almost the entire game. The first points were scored by Jones and Akim Sanni ’21. The Judges upped their score to 17–4 and, by halftime, the score had crept all the way up to 37–31 in favor of the Judges. Brandeis had a 50 percent shot record, while UMass Dartmouth had a record of only 46.7 percent. 

The first part of the second half was fairly uneventful. Four minutes went by before the first basket was made. Finally, Lawrence Sabir ’21 made a layup to continue the scoring momentum. UMass Dartmouth then upped their game bringing the score to 39–31. UMass Dartmouth crept up and eventually overcame the Judges temporarily with a score of 54–53. The Judges fought back, gaining six more points in under three minutes. Sabir made a steal and Latye Workman ’18 made his own rebound. Jones knocked down a 3-point shot and placed Brandeis back on top. The game ended with a score of 63–56 in favor of the Judges. 

During this game, the Judges had a free throw percentage of 90 percent — far ahead of UMass Dartmouth who had a percentage of 70 percent. The Judges had only 18 turnovers throughout the game, while UMass Dartmouth had 24. The largest lead in the game was when the Judges were up by 13 points. The Judges had a three-point percentage of 21.1 percent, higher than UMass Dartmouth at 7.1 percent. 

Currently, the Judges have an average of 63.0 points per game, as well as a 3-pointer percentage of 21.1 percent. In addition, the Judges have an average of 31.0 rebounds and 17.0 assists per game. With two games down and 24 to go, the men’s team certainly has the  potential for a successful season. The next games that the Judges will play will be Wednesday, Nov. 14 against Suffolk University, Saturday, Nov. 17 against Bates College, Monday, Nov. 19 against Lasell College. Under their amazing leadership, we look forward to another great season from this team.