The men’s basketball team fell to Rochester 67-56, while the women’s team fell to Rochester 75-58 on Saturday, Jan. 29.
The men’s team started slowly on Rochester’s turf, falling behind a quick 8-0. The Judges quickly rebounded from the deficit and took the lead 20-19 at the 7:05 mark in the first half following a Samuel Dowden ’17 layup. A strong first half featured a strong rebounding performance (15) from the Judges. The free-throw line also proved to be a major factor for the Judges, who shot 85.7 percent from the free-throw line.
A strong push by the Rochester Yellowjackets in the second half was met with a valiant effort by the Judges. With the first bucket of the second half coming at the 18:16 mark, the Judges led 39-37 with 12:48 remaining in the game. The Yellowjackets made their push with 11 minutes remaining by going on a 14-0 run until the 7:18 mark in the half. Latye Workman ’18 ended the Yellowjacket run with a jump shot at seven-minute mark in the second half. Rochester held onto their lead despite an 8-0 run by the Judges to close out the game. Jacob Wittig ’19 and Sam Borst-Smith ’17 had strong showings for the Yellowjackets with both players pouring in 11 points in the second half.
Workman and Jordan Cooper ’18 led the way for the Judges. Workman scored a team-high 14 points in 20 minutes of play with Cooper adding 10 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. After a slow start, Robinson Vilmont ’17 continued to be a steady force for Brandeis. Vilmont scored all nine of his points in the second half while adding three steals and five rebounds.
At home, the Brandeis women’s team fell in a tough battle. Playing against a Rochester team that had only lost four times all season, the Judges struggled to match the offensive firepower of the Yellowjackets. An offensive struggle through the first two quarters for the Judges was too much to overcome despite a strong second half.
The Yellowjackets came out shooting in the first quarter, knocking down nine of their first 18 attempts leading to a 25-point quarter. A rough first half did not discourage the Judges as they fired back with a 24-point third quarter. With a pair of free throws from Noel Hodges ’18 at the 7:41 mark in the third, the deficit had been cut to nine. A three-pointer to end the third quarter followed by a three-pointer to open up the fourth quarter by Rochester proved to be too much for the Judges to overcome.
The Brandeis team was led by Hodges and Maria Jackson ’17, who had strong offensive showings. Jackson had a steady stat line of 11 points, one block, two steals and three rebounds. Sydney Sodine ’17 continued playing stellar basketball, adding seven points and five rebounds for the Judges.
With these losses, the Brandeis men’s team fell to 6-11, while the women’s team stayed above .500, boasting a winning record of 10-8. Both teams play Emory University on Friday, Feb. 3. The women play at 6 p.m. and the men play at 8 p.m. at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.
