Facing fourteenth ranked Carnegie-Mellon on January 11, the odds were against the Judges. However they had a four syllable response to those who had wrote them off early. Steve DeLuca (GRAD).
Scoring a season high 28 points and 10 rebounds, DeLuca helped pave the way for the Judges 69-57 upset against the Tartans for their first UAA win of the season.
Two free throws from Rich Magee ’10 put Brandeis up by one at the 11:57 mark of the first half. The Judges would not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game, quickly going on a 14-4 scoring run in the next four minutes of the half. In the second half, Carnegie-Mellon could not come closer than a seven point deficit with under ninety seconds left, but Brandeis drained 5 of 6 free throws to seal the win.
Kenny Small ’10 scored 16 points off the bench to go along with 3 assists and Kevin Olson ’09 chipped in 12 points of his own, nailing all three of his three point attempts. Terrell Hollins ’10 and Tyrone Hughes ’12 also provided three assists in the contest. Terrance Bouldin-Johnson finished one point shy of a double-double for the Tartans, scoring nine points and matching DeLuca’s total of 10 rebounds on the day. Ryan Einwag was the only player to reach double digits for Carnegie-Mellon. The Judges outshot Carnegie Mellon 42 percent to 37 percent and converted 15 Tartan turnovers into 12 points. Brandeis also drained 16 of 18 free throws in the second half.
The victory was a much needed salve following a disappointing loss to Rochester in their UAA opener 69-73. Furiously rallying from a thirteen point deficit in the second half, Andre Roberson’s ’10 three point brought the Judges to within one basket, 69-71. On the ensuing possession however, Mike Chmielowiec converted on both free throws to ice the game.
Kenny Small led the offense with 15 points off the bench while DeLuca and Roberson had 12 and 11 points respectively. Roberson also dished out four assists in the losing effort.
The Judges however had no answer for Rochester’s Mike Chmielowiec as he finished with 25 points on 7-13 shooting including going 4-6 from the three point stripe. Marcus Robinson followed with 11 points and Nate Novosel put in 10 points and a game high six rebounds.
With their January 5 win over their final non-conference opponent of the season, an 84-50 demolition of Curry, the Judges are now 7-5 with a 1-1 conference and look to build on their upset win as they host New York University on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm.
