From University of Chicago Athletics
The University of Chicago men's basketball team completed a weekend league sweep with Sunday's 77-67 victory over visiting Brandeis University to give the Maroons its second win in three days at Ratner Athletics Center.
UChicago (6-8, 2-1 UAA) finds itself with some University Athletic Association momentum after topping NYU Friday (80-70) and pushing the nation's sixth-ranked team to the brink in a Jan. 6, one-point loss at Washington-St. Louis.
The Maroons' offense was crisp again early Sunday, orchestrated by a career-high 12 assists from sophomore Jordan Baum. Senior Jake Fenlon and sophomore Sam Sustacek both netted a team-best 19 points apiece – a career-high mark for Sustacek – and Justin Jackson (14 points) and Noah Karras (13 points) also netted double-figure scoring for the Maroons.
After Brandeis (4-10, 0-3) started the first half on a 7-2 run, Jackson (layup, two free throws) and Karras (two jumpers) helped get the Maroons back on track to pull within three at 12-9 (15:52). But the Judges pushed the lead back to seven over the course of the next five minutes, leading 19-12.
The second half of the first period belonged to UChicago, as the Maroons outscored the Judges 27-15 enroute to a 39-34 halftime lead, aided by three Fenlon triples and solid inside play from Sustacek, who finished the half with eight of his 19. Reserve Max Jacobs also gave the Maroons a lift, scoring six points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting, all three attempts drives to the rim.
UChicago never gave up the lead in the final 20 minutes, leading by as many as 17 on a Sustacek layup at the 1:57 mark. Brandeis would drain three of four 3-point attempts in the final 1:34 to create the final score.
The Maroons shot a crisp 50.8 percent (30-of-59) inside their home arena while holding the Judges to just 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the field. Brandeis did make 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) 3-point attempts compared to 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) for the Maroons, but UChicago dominated the glass (45-29) and utilized a 15-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Sustacek – who shot 8-of-11 from the floor – and reserve Dominic Laravie led UChicago with eight rebounds each and Jacobs finished with six rebounds in just nine minutes of playing time. Jackson shot 4-of-9 and added five boards and two assists in an starting role.
All five of Brandeis' starters reached double-figure scoring, led by Lawrence Sabir with 13.