Judges pound Newbury, 80-57; Lasers fend off Roger Williams, 68-60
WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University and Lasell College men's basketball teams will face off tomorrow in the title game of the Brandeis University Tip-Off tournament after both won semifinal contests. The Judges defeated Newbury College, 80-57, in today's opener, while Lasell held off numerous late runs to defeat Roger William University, 68-60.
Brandeis opened its season with a win by outscoring the Nighthawks, 16-2, over the first eight minutes of the contest. The Judges forced six turnovers and Newbury missed seven of eight shots in that span. Meanwhile, Brandeis grabbed four offensive rebounds in the stretch and scored off of three of them, with sophomore Rocco Toppi (Portland, Maine) connecting for eight points in the early run. The Judges pushed the lead to as many as 21, which was the margin at the intermission, 48-27. It got up to 31 early in the second, as the Judges were never threatened.
Four Brandeis players reached double figures, led by sophomore Steve DeLuca (Merrimack, N.H.), who had team-highs with 15 points and nine rebounds. Rookie Huston Conti (Edmonds, Wash.) came of the bench for 12 points in his first collegiate game, while Toppi and sophomore guard Florian Rexhepi (Skopje, Macedonia) each contributed 10 points. Rexhepi also led all players with six assists. The Judges connected for 15 3-pointers in the game, hitting 48.4 percent from beyond the arc (15-31). Seven different Brandeis players hit more than one trifecta. They had 20 assists on 28 baskets and blocked seven shots to none for the Nighthawks.
Newbury sophomore Walky Magloire (Waltham, Mass.) led all scorers with 19 points, hitting seven-of-17 from the floor and five-of-eight from the line, while classmate Arch Mitchell (Framingham, Mass.) added 17. Mitchell hit seven-of-19, including the Nighthawks' only two trifectas of the night as Newbury was outscored 15-2 from beyond the arc. Senior forward Matthew Stanton (Lynnfield, Mass.) led all players with 10 rebounds.
- 30 -