Looking to rebound after a brutal letdown at home last week, the Brandeis Men’s Basketball team managed to steady the ship, knocking off Emory 89-81 and getting past Case-Western 90-75.
The Super Bowl Sunday match up against Emory was no cakewalk for the Judges, as the Eagles had knocked off formerly number one ranked Rochester the week before. After climbing back from an eight point deficit early, Brandeis never looked back, closing the first half on a 22-11 run to lead 45-43, and holding on for an eight point victory.
Andre Roberson ’10 had a game to remember, scoring a career high 29 points off the bench, and shooting 9-11 from the field in 29 minutes of action. Christian Yemga ’11 also provided a big boost off the bench with 15 points and six rebounds. Joe Coppens ’08 and Kevin Olson ’09 provided 16 and 15 points respectively to lead the Judges’ starters, while Terrell Hollins ’10 pulled down eight rebounds.
For the Eagles, Anthony Fernandez had a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards, while Spiros Ferderigos led the offense with 20 points and John Kreese had 13 points in the losing effort.
The victory comes after Brandeis snapped its losing skid in Ohio last Friday. The Spartans kept it close but Brandeis’ deadly long distance shooting, which saw them nail a season high 12 three pointers, was too much to overtake, leading to their tidy victory.
Joe Coppens and Kevin Olson led the offense with 25 and 19 points, respectively, and made 11 of 19 trifectas combined. Terrell Hollins added 12 points and Roberson had 11 points and six assists off the bench.
Mason Conrad led Case Western with a double-double, 16 points, and 10 rebounds. Rob Skuski put in 14 points while guards Kevin Herring and Brandon Bradford had 13 and 12 points each. Brandeis also forced 14 Spartan turnovers while only coughing up the ball five times themselves.
Brandeis now braces itself for some grudge play on their home court, as they take on the scrappy Eagles tonight at 8 p.m. and then play host to Case-Western on Feb. 10 at 12 p.m.
