WALTHAM, Mass. — Brandeis University senior guards Gabriel Moton (St. Petersburg, Fla./St.Petersburg) and Ben Bartoldus (Hillsborough, N.H./Proctor Acad.) combined for 48 of their team's 78 points tonight as the Judges never trailed in a 78-58 victory over Becker in non-conference men's basketball action in Auerbach Arena. With the win, Brandeis improves to 5-1 on the season, while the Hawks fall to 3-3.
Moton and Bartoldus combined to shoot 15-of-21 on the night from the field, 8-of-11 from 3-point range and 10-of-14 from the line. As a team, the Judges connected on 12-of-24 from downtown for a season-high 50 percent.
Moton finished with 28 points, four shy of his career- and season-best. He hit 7-of-10 from the field, 6-of-9 from deep and 8-of-9 on foul shots. He scored 12 points in the first half and added 16 more in the second. He also had eight rebounds – seven in the first half – and two assists.
Bartoldus came three points shy of his career-best with 20 points, hitting 8-of-11 overall, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 2-of-5 from the line. After scoring seven points in the first half, he added 13 more in the second.
Rookie guard Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson Acad.) led the Judges with a game-high nine rebounds – three offensive - and five assists. He also scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
Becker had two players in double figures, led by junior guard Donovin Ford-Hayes (Windsor Locks, Conn./Windsor Locks), who had 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-6 from downtown. Senior Tyler Roberson (Irvington, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) had 10 points, but needed 2-of-13 from the field to get there, scoring 5-of-6 from the line. Hawk junior Chris Canady (Newark, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) came off the bench to lead all players with six assists, while sophomore reserve Reginald Finney (Ansonia, Conn./Ansonia) paced the visitors with seven rebounds.
The teams traded points on their first couple of possessions before Moton gave the Judges the lead for good on a traditional three-point play just over three minutes into the game. Ford-Hayes answered with a lay-up on the next possession, but the Judges then went on a 13-3 lead over the next five-and-a-half minutes to take a 20-9 lead on two Ishmael Kalilou (Windsor, Conn./Taft School) free throws at the 11:10 mark.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Moton and Vilmont made it a 27-14 lead for the Judges with 7:25 left in the half. The lead ballooned to as large as 16 points before a late Finney bucket cut it to 39-25 at the intermission.
An 18-9 run to open the second half was punctuated when Bartoldus slammed home an alley-oop from Moton and then hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, making it 57-34 with 14:03 left in the game. Becker would close within 14 points with 5:38 left, but would get no closer, as Moton and Vilmont hit two more back-breaking 3-pointers around the three-minute mark.
The Judges return to action this weekend at the New England Big Four Challenge at Tufts. Brandeis will take on Babson in the first round Saturday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m. as they try to capture their fourth crown in five years and second in a row. Becker heads to Worcester-area rival Clark University Thursday at 6 p.m.