| Gabriel Moton got significant
playing time in two years at Boston College, but transferred to
Brandeis to stay in the city and have a chance to
start. Photo for Brandeis athletics by Jan Volk, Sportspix |
It's one of Brian Meehan's favorite recipes, but you won't find it in any cookbook.
Instead, just pay a visit to Auerbach Arena, where the Brandeis men's basketball team plays its home games. That's there where you'll see the perfect blend of maturity and experience -- with a dash of luck -- boiling to perfection.
Meehan, now in his 10th season as the Judges' coach, knows what it takes to make a NCAA tournament team. He's sees the necessary pieces coming together with this year's junior-laden group.
Brandeis just completed a road sweep of UAA rivals Chicago and Washington U for only the second time in program history. In UAA history the feat has been accomplished fewer than 10 times. After 16 games, the Judges sit at 14-2 overall, including 5-0 in the UAA, and are ranked 19th in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
This is familiar territory for Meehan, who led Brandeis to four consecutive NCAA tournament berths from 2007-2010 and a pair of Elite Eight appearances. But for the players, most of which are juniors and spent the last two seasons outside of the playoff field, this season represents the chance to take the next step.
"Our goal every year is get into that tournament," Meehan said. "We were in for four years in a row and then we lost that whole group and we had to kind of build up again with freshmen."
Those freshmen are now mature, experienced juniors. Players such as guards Derek Retos and Ben Bartoldus, center Youri Dascy and forward Alex Stoyle have all played consistent minutes for the last three seasons. But this year has been different.
Meehan simply points to the Washington U game, which Brandeis won 67-62.
"Derek had a terrible first half out at Wash U," Meehan said. "He was 0-for-3, nothing really even close to the basket, he was struggling. Then he comes out in the second half and gets 23 [points]. I don't think that would have happened last year or the year before."
The 5-foot-10 Retos, a co-captain along with Bartoldus, is a consistent scorer and accurate shooter from long distance. He's shooting 49 percent from 3-point territory -- fourth in the nation -- and averaging nearly three 3-pointers per contest. Bartoldus and Stoyle provide consistent minutes, while Dascy and 6-9 senior Wouter van der Eng share time at center. Another pair of juniors -- Connor Arnold and Alex Schmidt -- both see variable playing time, based on matchups and other variables.
For the most part, all of these juniors are solid, but perhaps not great, at just about everything. That is, except for the newest one.
Gabe Moton, a junior transfer from Boston College, has seamlessly stepped into the role as go-to player for the Judges this season after two seasons at BC in which he averaged just under three points per game in 15 minutes per game.
But Meehan said Moton was under the impression he'd see even less playing time with the incoming recruiting class. As he looked at potential transfer locations, a friend at BC who knew a former Brandeis player stepped in.
Meehan was skeptical at first. After all, Moton had the talent to play at the Division I level. But the chance to step in and play major minutes immediately at point guard, while at the same time remaining close to his friends at Boston College proved too much to pass up.
"He was playing in the ACC," Meehan said. "It's not like he was sitting at the end of the bench, he was getting valuable minutes. Though BC was struggling, minutes are minutes. ... I always said that at some point you get lucky and you're going to get one. I guess we got ours, and we're pretty lucky."
Moton leads the Judges in scoring (15.2 points per game), rebounding (6.4) and assists (3.9). But more than the raw numbers, Meehan said Moton gives the team a "swagger" on the court and a steady presence to rely on.
Brandeis has lost only two games this season -- a sluggish two-point loss to Rhode Island College in the season opener and a 12-point loss to an angry Amherst team coming off its only two losses of the season in a week's span. Meehan regrets the loss to RIC, in particular, as that one could have playoff ramifications down the line.
But Meehan has been most encouraged by his team's ability to win on the road this season -- including the Midwest UAA sweep, the Judges are 6-2 away from Waltham, Mass., this season.
"Regardless of where we had gone last weekend, just the fact that we won two road games was kind of a step forward in their maturity and development," Meehan said.
Some of the seeds for Brandeis' success were also planted in August, when the team took its trip abroad. Meehan takes his team somewhere every four years, and this past summer he opted for Croatia. While there, the team played a handful of games against Croatian club teams.
"Those trips are so important for team bonding and growth, and we could see it on the trip," Meehan said. "All of them, not just Ben and Derek and Wouter, but the whole group of them, really starting to step up and become leaders and challenging one another, but also having each other's back."
Brandeis faces another stiff road test this weekend when it matches up with Emory and Rochester on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Meehan doesn't deny the challenges ahead. But then again, that's just life in the UAA.
Now, for the first time in three seasons, Meehan feels his team is mature and experienced enough to handle it all.
Men's Northeast: Amherst's early struggles long forgotten
For anyone worried about early-season losses to Springfield and Babson, rest easy -- Amherst is just fine.
Since their two losses in a five-day span in the first week of December, the Lord Jeffs have reeled off 10 wins in a row, including an impressive 83-67 win against Williams Wednesday night. Willy Workman (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Aaron Toomey (20 points, five assists) were too much for Williams, a common theme this season for the Lord Jeffs.
Workman, a senior forward, and Toomey, a junior guard, form one of the most potent inside-outside combinations not only in the NESCAC, but in the country. Toomey is an elite scorer, capable of collecting points from mid-range, 3-point territory and the free-throw line, where he leads the country in free-throw percentage (93 percent).
Workman's last name suits him perfectly, as the 6-foot-6 big man has shown an ability to grind away successfully in the paint. Workman leads the team in rebounding (7.4 per game) and trails only Toomey in scoring (11.7 per game).
Amherst is no stranger to success. The Lord Jeffs have reached the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in the last two seasons, respectively, and are only six years removed from back-to-back NCAA championship game appearances. Amherst still has six regular-season games remaining, including five in the NESCAC, but this team appears to be heating up at the right time.
Men's East: Hobart starts strong in LL play
The overall record (9-6) isn't all that impressive. But the conference record (5-1) is pretty nice, especially considering the overall balance from top to bottom.
Hobart is almost assuredly not going to equal its sparkling record of 23-6 from last season, but the Statesmen are coming off a strong 82-70 road win against Union Tuesday night. Union (14-3, 6-2) and Skidmore (12-5, 6-2), along with Hobart, figured to be once again be prime contenders for the Liberty League crown. And, just like last season, Hobart finds itself atop the standings.
Junior forward Richie Bonnie (21.1 points, 7.3 rebounds per game) and senior guard Stefan Thompson (16.2 points, 5.7 assists) are two of the big reasons why. Bonney was solid last season as a sophomore, but has been putting up elite numbers in his third year. Thompson, too, has taken another step and emerged as a dangerous playmaker, particularly from the 3-point line, where he is 30-of-67 this season.
Hobart already has head-to-head wins against Union and Skidmore in the bag, which will help them for tiebreaker purposes. Of course, the Statesmen do host both teams again in the first week of February. A season sweep of both would almost assuredly lock up the Liberty League regular-season title.
Women's Northeast/East: Williams pushing Amherst, Tufts
Wins are wins and losses are losses. I get that.
But sometimes it's important to look past the simple W’s and L’s, and dig a little deeper. For example, yes, Williams is 0-2 against undefeated NESCAC powerhouses Amherst and Tufts this season. But consider those two losses came by just four and six points, respectively. The gap may not be as wide as it appears.
The Ephs boast a balanced and experienced team. Senior forwards Claire Baecher and Danny Rainer are both consistent scorers and rebounders in the post. Senior guards Grace Rehnquist and Jennie Harding, and sophomore guard Ellen Cook are the shooters. All three of them have drained at least 28 3-pointers, and are shooting 41 percent or better from 3-point range.
That kind of inside-outside production is tough to handle. Of course, when it can be contained -- Amherst held Williams to 4-for-15 shooting from 3-point range Wednesday night -- it can be problematic for the Ephs. Tufts, like Amherst a strong defensive team, held the Ephs to just 3-of-17 3-point shooting in its 61-57 win back on Jan. 4.
Williams plays Amherst at home on Feb. 8.
Top 25: Rochester, Middlebury still on top
Rochester and Middlebury held steady at No. 2 and No. 3 in this week's D3hoops.com Men's Top 25 poll. WPI (No. 6) and Williams (No. 9) remained in the top 10.
Amherst (No. 14), Albertus Magnus (No. 18), Brandeis (No. 19), Stevens (No. 20) and Rhode Island College (No. 21) also cracked the top 25, giving the Northeast/East regions nine of the 25 ranked teams this week. MIT and Springfield also received votes.
Amherst once again checked in at No. 4 in this week's D3hoops.com Women's Top 25 poll. Tufts and Southern Maine stayed at No. 6 and No. 13, respectively. Williams climbed into the rankings at No. 22, while Babson slipped from No. 20 to No. 24. New Paltz State and Rochester each received votes.
Quick hits
Ryan Kolb scored 18 points and Aaron Davis added 14 points as WPI beat MIT 65-59 on Saturday. With the win, WPI improved to 18-0 overall. ... Anthony Click finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as Anna Maria upset Albertus Magnus 97-88 on Monday. Darius Watson scored 29 points for the Falcons, which lost their first GNAC game since 2011. ... Jared Suderley finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds as Hartwick upset Stevens 63-56 on Tuesday. The loss was the first for Stevens in Empire 8 play. ... Trevor Healey tallied a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds in Keuka's 82-68 win vs. Cazenovia Wednesday night. The Storm snapped a two-game losing skid with the win. ... Andre French scored 20 points and David McDaniel added 17 points and five rebounds in Elms' 82-63 victory over Regis (Mass.) on Saturday. After starting the season 1-7 overall, Elms has gone 7-1 in NECC play. ... Mike Rotando and Jake Laga each scored 15 points to lead Mass-Dartmouth to a 67-58 win over Mass-Boston on Tuesday. ... Tom Poitras scored 19 points and Garon Whitney added 15 points and 12 rebounds in Rivier's 55-40 win against Lasell on Monday. ... Kaitlyn Bovee finished with 27 points and connected on all five of her 3-point attempts as the Roger Williams women's team topped Eastern Nazarene 82-59 on Wednesday. The Hawks have won six straight and are tied for second in the CCC. ... Taylor DeSanty collected 21 points and six rebounds to lead Colby-Sawyer to a 68-52 win over New England College on Saturday. The Chargers have won nine in a row and sit atop the NAC standings.
This week's buzzer beaters
Jan. 13: Shantel Hanniford made a buzzer beater layup as time expired to lift visiting Trinity (Conn.) to a 52-50 NESCAC women's basketball win over Hamilton. Watch
Contact me
Whether you have an interesting story idea, know of a player or coach approaching a career milestone, or just want to talk basketball, I want to hear it. Please reach out to me at andrew.lovell@d3sports.com. You can also follow me on Twitter (@andrew_lovell).
