From Brandeis University Athletics

The Brandeis University men's basketball team scored 18 unanswered points in the second half as they came back from an early 15-point deficit to defeat visiting Case Western Reserve, 83-66, in a University Athletic Associationcontest in Red Auerbach Arena this afternoon. The Judges improve to 6-7 overall, 2-1 in the UAA, while the Spartans dip to 5-9, 0-3 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brandeis got off to a slow start for the second game in a row, as Case established leads of 12-2 and 19-7 within the first 7:15.
• The Judges were able to climb within four at 19-15 at the 10:45 mark as their bench scored eight straight points, including 3-pointers from Carlin Haymon (Boston, Mass./Rivers School) and Jack Fay (New Rochelle, N.Y./Suffield Acad.).
• CWRU responded with an 11-point run of their own, with Javier Alvarez hitting a pair of trifectas and Michael Hollis hitting from downtown to make it 30-15 with 7:47 remaining in the first.
• The teams traded buckets on the next two possessions to make it 32-15 with 6:44 to go. The Judges then outscored the visitors 12-3 the rest of the way, highlighted by a pair of Eric D'Aguanno (Saunderstown, R.I./St. Andrews School) deep balls, making it 35-32, Spartans, at the break.
• Case looked to put the game away early in the second half, as they opened on a 14-8 streak over the first 5:28, taking a 51-40 lead on an Alvarez put-back at the 14:32.
• At that point, the Judges went on the decisive run. Brandeis held CWRU scoreless for the next seven minutes, scoring 18 points in a row.
• Half of the points in the run came from beyond the arc, with D'Aguanno hitting two more long balls. He also assisted the go-ahead bucket by feeding senior Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson Acad.) for a corner 3 that made it 53-51 at the 10:42 mark.
• D'Aguanno also had a steal to lead to the Judges going up four, while Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School) hit 3-of-4 from the line to cap the run and give Brandeis a 58-51 lead with 8:25 to go.
• Case's Alvarez looked to stop the bleeding for the visitors with another trifecta with just over seven minutes to go that got them within four, but Brandeis embarked on another big run, scoring 17 of the next 18 points to blow things open.
• Overall, the Judges outscored Case 35-4 over a span of just under 12 minutes.  

FOR THE JUDGES

• Brandeis put three players in double figures in scoring. D'Aguanno led the charge with 19 points off the bench. He hit 7-of-15 overall and 5-of-12 from downtown. Eleven of his points came in the first half. He also had three assists and two steals.
• Cooper tallied 14 of his 17 points in the second half, finishing 6-of-10 overall, 2-of-2 from deep and 3-of-4 from the line.
• Senior Tim Reale (Mason, Ohio/St. Andrews School) finished with 11 points, seven coming after the break.
• Haymon finished with a terrific overall stat line, finishing with eight points and team and career-highs of eight rebounds and seven assists.

FOR THE SPARTANS

• Alvarez, who entered the game with just six 3-pointers all season, connected five times to lead the visitors with 20 points. He had 14 of those in the first half, when he went 4-for-4 from downtown.
• Alvarez also led the Spartans with six assists.
• T.J. Duckett recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, missing just two shots (6-8 FG, 4-4 FT).
• Colin Zucker added eight points, but no other Case player had more than six.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Shooting was a tale of two halves. 
  • Case hit 58.3 percent from the field (14-24) and from distance (7-12) in the first, while Brandeis was at 37.1 percent overall (13-35) and 31.6 percent from deep (6-19).
  • In the second half, Brandeis hit 57.1 percent overall (16-28) and 45.5 percent from downtown (5-11) compared to 34.4 and 15 percent for Case in the second (11-32, 3-20).
• Brandeis also dominated the turnover battle, forcing 21 and committing just nine, including a 10-1 edge in the second half. The Judges turned that difference into a 31-7 edge in points off turnovers for the game, 19-0 after the break.
• The hosts also outscored CWRU, 14-6, from the line.
• With the win, head coach Brian Meehan ties Bob Brannum atop Brandeis men's basketball's all-time victories with his 204^th. 
  • This is Meehan's 14^th season.
  • Brannum led the Judges for 16 years from 1970 to 1986.  
  • The Judges are a game back of first place through the first two weekends of UAA play.