WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team closed the game on a 23-9 run over the final 8:39 tonight to defeat the visiting Middlebury College Panthers, 65-60, in Red Auerbach Arena. In the process, the Judges ran their winning streak to seven in a row.

TEAM RECORD

• Brandeis: 8-2.
• Middlebury: 5-7.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Panthers raced out to a 31-25 lead in the first half thanks to a marked difference in 3-point shooting. Middlebury connected on 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, while Brandeis was just 1-of-14.
• Middlebury's Noah Osher was 4-of-7 from deep en route to 16 first-half points to lead all players.
• Brandeis missed its first 13 attempts from beyond the arc before senior Sam Adusei (Worcester, Mass./St. George's School) connected to beat the first-half buzzer. Junior Gilbert Otoo (Burtonsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) had eight points to lead the Judges.
• Brandeis opened the second half with another made trifecta from sophomore Jake Bender (Hope, R.I./St. George's School) to close within three points. They tied the game at 32-32 when sophomore Quron Zene (Bristol, Conn./IMG Acad.) connected from deep just under four minutes into the stanza.
• The teams traded buckets before Middlebury scored eight of the next 10 points, going ahead 42-36 on a three-point play by Evan Flaks.
• The visitors extended their lead to eight on a fast-break 3-pointer by Sam Stevens that made it 47-39 with 10:27 to go, while Osher's bucket with 8:39 left gave the Panthers their largest lead of the second half at 51-42.
• It was all Judges from there, as Brandeis went on the decisive run. Adusei outscored Middlebury by himself down the stretch with nine points, including a three-point play early in the run.
• Brandeis took its first lead since nine minutes remained in the first half on an Otoo jumper after he grabbed his own offensive rebound that made it 56-55 with 3:32 to go.
• Otoo and Adusei each hit two free throws as Brandeis pushed the lead to 60-55 with 2:28 remaining.
• Middlebury wasn't done, as Flaks hit a jumper and Jaden Bobbett connected from downtown with 1:19 left to even things up at 60-all.
• Brandeis responded when Bender tipped in a missed 3-pointer to give the Judges the lead for good with 34 seconds to go. The Judges forced turnovers on the next two Middlebury possessions to close the Panthers out.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Otoo led Brandeis with 18 points, 10 coming in the second half, while Adusei scored 11 of his 16 after the break, including the big burst down the stretch.
• Bender also had a great second half with nine of his 11 points coming after the break.
• Zene led the Judges with seven rebounds, while senior Ryan Power (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) had three assists.
• The Judges' defense was key, as they forced 23 Middlebury turnovers, including 16 steals. Senior David Perez-Miralles (Miami, Fla./Riviera Prep) had a career-high six steals, while Otoo and Power each had three thefts.
• Brandeis's 23-8 turnover advantage in turnovers led to a 25-12 edge in points off those miscues – including 19-4 in the second half.
• The Panthers were paced by Osher, who scored 16 of his 20 points in the first 20 minutes. Sam Stevens added 11 points.
• David Brennan led all players with 10 rebounds, as the visitors won the battle of the boards, 40-31.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Brandeis's seven-game winning streak is their longest single-season streak since the 2012-13 campaign.
• They won 10 in a row at the end of the 2021-22 (four games) and start of 2022-23 (six games).
• Their last eight-game streak in a single season came during 2010-11, when they won the first 11 games of the season.
• Brandeis owns a 15-12 lead in their all-time series with Middlebury, which was renewed for the first time since 2002.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will try to extend their winning streak to eight in a row when they meet Regis College on the road on January 3 at 2 p.m.