After starting the season with three straight wins, the Brandeis men’s basketball team looked to finish their first month strong. Their first game of this stretch was an away game against Lasell University on Nov. 19. Last year the Judges doubled Lasell’s score and won 88-44. In their matchup this year, sophomore forward Toby Harris ’25 got the scoring started with a jump shot 10 seconds into the game. Offensive rebounds for the Judges helped them build a lead with all these second-chance points. Roughly halfway through the first half, sophomore center Griffin Walbridge ’25 scored a layup off an assist from senior guard Dylan Lien ’23. This gave Brandeis double the number of points that Lasell had, as the score was 30-15. The Judges maintained this lead, even after Lasell went on a 13-5 run toward the end of the half. Going into the second half, the Judges were up 49-37 after shooting 65.6% from the field. They were also extremely efficient from the three-point range, after making five of nine of their attempts. Junior Ryan Power ’24 got the Judges on the board in the second half with a layup. However, Lasell cut Brandeis’ lead to just seven points with 15:22 left in the game. The Judges responded by scoring 10 consecutive points, coming from 3-pointers from Harris and forward Quron Zene ’26. From there, the Judges didn’t stop. The offense just kept going. Their lead got up to 21 points in the game. Ultimately, Brandeis beat Lasell 85-66 and put the win streak at four.
Four Judges scored double-digit points in the game. They were led by Harris with 24 and Power with 15. Harris was particularly effective from three in the game, as he hit five of his seven attempts. Zene led the team in rebounds with 11, while also having 10 points in the game giving him a double-double. Guard Ethan Edwards ’26 led the team in assists with four, in addition to 11 points off the bench. Overall, the Judges shot 52.2% from the field and 38.5% from three. They held Lasell to 40.6% shooting overall and just 23.8% from three. Brandeis also had 41 rebounds to Lasell’s 25.
A few days later, the Judges played another away game, this time against UMass Dartmouth (UMD). Last year, Brandeis beat UMD 76-68. After both teams missed a few shots, UMD got the scoring started before Zene tied the game with two free throws. From there, the Judges went on a 17-5 run to build a 19-7 lead. The Judges’ lead got up to 28-9 after Harris hit a three, however, UMD brought the game back to within 11 just a few minutes later. A couple of 3-pointers from Harris, Lien and Zene helped make sure that UMD did not make a comeback as Brandeis held a 41-24 lead over UMD at the end of the first half. To start the second half, UMD scored 10 straight points to cut the deficit to just seven. Junior guard David Perez-Miralles ’24 helped stop that momentum with a layup and was followed by a 3-pointer from Zene. The two teams traded points for the rest of the game with UMD never truly being out of the game. In the end, the Judges just outpaced UMD from three, and won 79-68.
Harris once again led the team in points with 23 and was followed by Lien with 18. Zene and Lien tied the team lead in rebounds with seven. Edwards led the team in assists with five, while also adding 12 points. Although both teams shot similar percentages overall, Brandeis shot 44.8% and UMD shot 40% from the field, the Judges were much more efficient from three. Brandeis made 13 3-pointers on just 22 attempts for a 59.1% shooting percentage. UMD on the other hand made just four threes, while shooting 17.4%. The Judges got outrebounded 38-41 and had more turnovers with 18 compared to UMD’s 13, but the 3-pointers and defense proved to be enough to get the win.
In the team’s final game of November, they returned home to face Emerson College on Nov. 28. During an early season matchup last year, Emerson got the best of the Judges 84-72. This time, it looked like it was going to be different. Edwards got the Judges on the board with a jump shot and from there, Brandeis never gave up the lead. They started with a 9-2 run and then later a 12-4 run. In the final eight minutes of the first half, the Judges held their opponents scoreless and held a 31-19 lead. Although Brandeis was shooting just 36.4% from the field and 27.3% from three, their defense was solid. Emerson made just eight shots in the first half and were 1/10 from the 3-point line. For the first six minutes of the second half, Brandeis held a convincing lead. That was until Emerson went on a huge run to cut the deficit to 36-41. Zene stopped their momentum for a second, with a layup, but an Emerson triple cut the Judges’ lead to just four. The game remained close for the next five minutes until Harris and senior guard Darret Justice ’23 hit deep threes to give them a comfortable lead. Brandeis would go on to win the game 76-70.
Edwards had a phenomenal game as he led the team in points with 24, while having just one turnover. He shot 10/13 overall and 3/3 from the 3-point line. Harris had his sixth consecutive game with 20 or more points, while also grabbing eight rebounds. Zene led the team in rebounds with 10 and Lien provided 14 points from the bench. Overall, the Judges shot just 41.9% from the field and 34.8% from three. This was worse than Emerson; however, the key difference was that Brandeis had just six turnovers in the game. Emerson on the other hand had 14.
The Judges now have a 6-0 record and will next play Colby College for the University Athletic Association’s NESCAC Challenge on Dec. 3. On the next day, they will face Bates College before returning home for a game against Babson College. Babson will be the last team they face before going on a three-week break.
