The men’s basketball team had another tough week, dropping both of its games within the University Athletic Association conference.  The team is now 5-15 on the season with a 2-9 away record and a 1-8 conference record. 

Judges 58, Carnegie Mellon 72

While the judges actually outscored the Tartans in the second half, Brandeis was down by 21 after the first half and was unable to overcome the large deficit in the end.  This game mainly came down to rebounding and efficient shooting.  The Tartans had a higher field goal percentage than the Judges (48.3 versus 35.6) and grabbed 12 more boards.

This was a game that Brandeis should have won given that this was only Carnegie Mellon’s fifth win of the season and its first win in the conference.  Furthermore, the Judges beat Carnegie Mellon in a high-scoring affair last weekend by a score of 87-79.  This season has not been too pretty for Brandeis men’s basketball, but fans and players alike have to be patient with this developing squad.  With a lot of new players on the roster getting used to the up-tempo style of collegiate play, it will take time for everything to click for this team.  With a lot of depth and potential moving forward, there should be a lot to look forward to for years to come.

Judges 64, Case Western 69

Brandeis got off to a rocky start this past week with a 69-64 loss against Case Western University on Friday on the road.  While the UAA is a difficult conference to compete in, the Judges have been unable to best their fellow UAA competitors all season long.  However, with only one more win at home than on the road for the year, the team’s struggles extend past venues and opponents.

In comparing the two teams, Brandeis actually had a higher field goal percentage (43.9 versus 35.9) and three-point percentage (33.3 versus 20.0).  However, Case Western attempted 17 more free throws than Brandeis, knocking down 10 more than the Judges for the game.  The biggest issue for the hardworking Judges, though, was turnovers.  The team committed seven more turnovers than Case Western, and the Spartans capitalized on the mistakes; Case Western scored 22 points off turnovers compared to Brandeis’ six points.

For the Judges, guard Lawrence Sabir ’21 had a team-high 12 points while shooting an efficient 5-8 from the floor.  Sabir also added four rebounds, two assists and the only block from the Brandeis starters for the game.  Guard Latye Workman ’18 also put up impressive stats for the squad with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.  Workman was also a perfect 4-4 from the line.  Forward Chandler Jones ’21 and guard Collin Sawyer ’20 combined for 16 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals.  Sawyer also shot a solid 2-5 from behind the arc.  Guard Eric D’Aguanno ’20 led the team with three made three-pointers, while also grabbing three boards off the bench.

Next up for the Judges is a pair of games at home as the team matches up with Washington University in St. Louis on Friday and the University of Chicago on Sunday.  Brandeis has struggled against both UAA opponents so far this season, losing to WashU by a score of 84-56 on Jan. 12 and to UChicago by a score of 77-67 on Jan. 14.  Brandeis was outplayed in both games and they will especially have to improve their shooting and rebounding if they want to come out on top against these teams.

While a .500 season is well out of reach, the Judges will hope to have double-digit wins by the end of the 2017-18 campaign.  The rest of their opponents will be fellow UAA conference members, who have had Brandeis’ number thus far, so the road ahead will not be an easy one.  With hard work and perseverance, though, fans and players alike should have faith that the beloved squad can turn things around sometime soon.