WALTHAM, Mass. – Behind a career-high 28 points from junior forward Alex Stoyle (Goffstown, N.H./Tilton School), the Brandeis University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire tonight in defeating the visiting University of Chicago Maroons, 75-56, in University Athletic Association (UAA) action tonight. With the win, the Judges improve to 17-6, 8-4 in the UAA, while the Maroons fall to 10-13, 4-8 UAA.
Stoyle - who had missed Brandeis's previous two games due to illness - put together a tremendous shooting night to match Brandeis's season-high scoring performance. He connected on 10-of-12 from the floor, 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. Nineteen of his 28 points came in the first half, when he tallied as many points and had one more field goal than the entire UC roster. He also had all five of his rebounds in the first.
Two other players scored in double figures. Senior Jay Freeman (Dorchester, Mass./St. Mark's School) was a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points and has connected on 10 of his last 11 trifectas. Junior guard Gabriel Moton (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg) reached 10 points despite a 2-for-9 shooting night, hitting 5-of-6 from the line.
The Judges owned a 43-32 edge on the glass, with rookie guard Colby Smith (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover) collecting a game- and career-high eight rebounds and senior center Wouter van der Eng (Alphen aun der Rijn, Netherlands/Kimball Union, Vt., Acad.) adding six. Smith also had a game-high five assists, while Moton finished with four helpers. Freeman led all players with three steals.
Chicago had just one player finish in double figures, as sophomore guard Royce Muskeyvalley (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) had 10 points on 4-of-11 from the field with a 3-pointer and a free throw. Classmate Alex Pyper (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral) and rookie Jordan Smith (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) each had eight points. Muskeyvalley also paced the Maroons with four rebounds and three assists. Junior Charlie Hughes (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) also had three helpers.
Brandeis got off to a tremendous start, as the Judges hit their first five shots, including three 3-pointers, to take a 13-5 lead 3:12 into the contest. The lead reached double figures for the first time on a Stoyle lay-up at 14:41 and stayed there the rest of the way. Brandeis's biggest lead of the first half came with 28 seconds left, when rookie Kevin Trotman (Bristol, Conn./Taft School) threw down his second dunk of the game off a Freeman steal, giving the Judges a 44-19 advantage. Brandeis outshot UC, 53 percent (17-32) to 21 percent (7-33), as Stoyle had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting to lead the way. The Judges also doubled the Maroons on the glass in the first half, 28-14, with Moton and Stoyle each grabbing five caroms.
Chicago outscored Brandeis, 37-31, in the second half, as the Maroons improved their shooting to 52 percent after the break (15-29) but the Judges' lead never fell below 17 points at any point. Stoyle and Freeman each scored nine points after the intermission.
Brandeis returns to action with an early contest on Sunday morning, as they will take on 17th-ranked Washington University at 11 a.m. The Judges will honor their three seniors before the game. Chicago will face NYU at noon on Sunday.