Back on the home court this weekend, the men’s basketball team’s efforts were not enough to secure them any wins. On Friday night, the Judges suited up against the Emory Eagles and lost 64-88 after a tough game. On Sunday, the men fell to the Rochester Yellow Jackets 52-78, dropping to 11-9 and 4-5 in the UAA.
On Friday night, the Judges came out strong against the 24th nationally ranked team, outscoring the Eagles 14-5 in the first few minutes of the game. However, they let up their lead and ended the half trailing behind Emory 36-41. When the Eagles opened up the second half with a strong lead, efforts from Chandler Jones ’21 and Eric D’Aguanno ’20 combined to break the lead to only 10 points. This was a big game for D’Aguanno, who totaled a game-high 21 points, 14 alone which came from the second half. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough and the Judges could not stop the runs, which led to the final 24-point loss. D’Aguanno attributed the results to the lack of commitment to the game plan. “We tried to get into a fast paced game with them rather than slowing the game down, so we let them get in an offensive rhythm.” He also said they have been focusing on defense this week and are aiming to collect some wins this upcoming weekend. Another key performance came from Lawrence Sabir ‘21 who had a career-tying nine assists in addition to his eight points and four rebounds.
The Judges faced another tough opponent on Sunday afternoon, where a decent start and close second half could not secure them the win. Yet again, Brandeis started off with a lead, 15-11, just in the first few minutes of the game. They could not stop the Jackets’ run, however, which resulted in a score of 40-21 at the half. After more runs from Rochester, Brandeis worked to minimize the 34-point lead to a final 26-point margin. Statistically speaking, the Judges held the Jackets to have just one player to score in double digits. Additionally, Brandeis allowed six fewer turnovers than Rochester did, while capitalizing and securing a 24-19 advantage in points off turnovers scored. An impressive showing came from Nolan Haggerty ‘22 who finished with a career-high of 10 points, three offensive rebounds and one block.
Next weekend, the men’s basketball team will play their last two home games against Carnegie Mellon on Friday Night at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon against Case Western Reserve at 12 p.m. On Sunday, Corey Sherman ’19 will be recognized during the Senior Day pregame ceremony.
