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The men’s basketball team continued its strong season, adding more non-conference wins to its resume. The Judges defeated Lasell College on Nov. 26 and Becker College on Dec. 3. Both games were played in the Auerbach Arena.

Brandeis went into Thanksgiving break after a back-and-forth 78-69 win against the Lasell Lasers. The game featured six ties and 18 lead changes. The Judges held the game throughout most of the first half but went into halftime facing a 38-37 deficit as Lasell’s captain Brandon Ganesh scored a three-pointer in the final seconds to end the visitor’s 19-9 run. Brandeis led by nine with 5:49 remaining in the first but the Lasers scored seven straight to come within two. The first half showcased strong performances by Ganesh who had 18 points, five assists and four rebounds, and senior forward Alex Stoyle ’14 with 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

The second half featured numerous lead changes but Lasell led by no more than three, always allowing Brandeis to be within one shot of tying the game. Brandeis went on numerous short, successful scoring runs before Lasell would come back to tie the game. The last stalemate occurred with 5:23 remaining. Brandeis ended the game on a 15-6 run to win the game. The Judges allowed only one field goal in this span while forcing four turnovers. Strong second-half performances by senior guards Ben Bartoldus and Gabriel Moton, as well as first-year guard Robinson Vilmont and junior forward Ishmael Kalilou gave Brandeis their late push.

Moton led Brandeis with 15 points while Bartoldus, Stoyle and Kalilou each added 13. Bartoldus shot well at 6-12 while grabbing seven rebounds. Stoyle also contributed nine rebounds, four assists and a career-high four blocks. Kalilou was 4-5 from the field and 5-5 from the line in only 12 minutes of play. Vilmont led the game with 11 rebounds. Ganesh carried Lasell with 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, earning Great Northeast Athletic Conference player of the week honors. Despite his big numbers, he was not able to come up strong in the end, shooting only 1-8 in the final 13 minutes. Richard O’Brien added 11 points while Sonny Mello had eight rebounds. Brandeis’ well-rounded group of starters and reserves pushed them ahead of Lasell’s one-man showcase as the Judges needn’t rely on a single player to lead the team.
Lasell is now 2-3 after a win on Tuesday against conference foe Norwich University.

Brandeis returned from break to defeat the Becker Hawks 78-58 in an easy win during which Brandeis led the entire game. They began strongly, ahead 20-9, nine minutes into the game and had their largest lead of the game—23 points—with 14:03 remaining in the second. The Hawks would come within 14 but no closer.

Moton and Bartoldus combined for 48 points, impressively shooting 15-21 from the field, 8-11 from beyond the arc and 10-14 from the free throw line. Moton led with 28 points. Vilmont led the game with nine rebounds and added five assists in only 22 minutes of play. Kalilou had six rebounds. The Hawks Donovin Ford-Hayes had 18 points and six rebounds. Chris Canady contributed six assists and Reginald Finney had seven rebounds.

Brandeis dominated from beyond the arc shooting 12-24, better than their 44.4 shooting percentage overall for the evening. They also overtook the opponents in rebounds 45-30. Fifteen Judges received playing time.

Becker is 3-3 and will face Clark University on Thursday. Brandeis enters the Big Four Challenge at Tufts University on Saturday, joining the host as well as Salem State University and their first round opponent, Babson College. The competitors in the tournament combine for a 12-5 record on the year posing more of a challenge than the team’s previous opponents who combine for 15-17 overall. Brandeis received 12 votes in this week’s D3hoops.com Top 25 rankings but can move into the fray with winning performances against the strong competitors this weekend.