RETOS RAINS THREES, BUT EMORY MEN RALLY FOR 85-80 UAA WIN
ATLANTA, Ga. – Brandeis senior Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./Brimmer and May School) extended his school record with seven more 3-pointers, including a trifecta with just under two minutes to go in regulation that gave his team the lead, but host Emory rallied to defeat the Judges, 85-80, in a University Athletic Association contest today. With the loss, Brandeis falls to 12-12 overall, 4-9 in the UAA. Emory improved to 17-7, 9-4 in the conference.
Retos, who set Brandeis's career trifecta record a week ago, finished with 24 points, matching his season-high. He hit 7-of-13 from downtown and hit all three of his free throws after getting fouled beyond the arc. Retos now has 224 career 3-pointers and becomes Division III's active career leader (minimum 110 made) in free-throw shooting at .933 (111-119). He also had a game-high three steals.
Also scoring in double figures for the Judges were two other seniors, guard Gabriel Moton (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg) and forward Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass./St. Andrew's School, R.I.). Moton had 15 points on 4-of-11 overall, 2-of-5 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the line. Dascy hit 5-of-9 from the field to score 10 points in just 18 minutes. Moton and Dascy also tied for the team lead with six rebounds.
The Brandeis offense was unable to contain a trio of Emory starters, who combined for 65 of their team's 85 points. Senior McPherson Moore led all players with 25 points, while classmate Jake Davis added 22. Junior Alex Foster had 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The threesome hit 20 of their 39 shots from the floor and combined to shoot 22-of-24 from the line, as Emory outscored the Judges, 28-18, from the charity stripe, offsetting Brandeis's 10-5 edge from beyond the arc. The Eagles also got a game-high seven assists from sophomore Michael Florin.
In a game that featured 10 ties and 15 lead changes, Brandeis led for a good portion of the second half. Twice when the Eagles threatened and took a one-point lead, Retos answered with a 3-pointer to put the Judges back ahead. After a pair of Moore free throws at the 2:43 mark tied the game for the 10th time, at 76-all, Brandeis missed twice on the other end to try to reestablish the lead. Davis got to the line next for the Eagles, putting them ahead, 78-76, with 2:14 on the clock, only to see Retos snatch the lead away again 30 seconds later at 1:44.
After Emory called timeout with just under 90 ticks left on the clock, the Eagles missed their next attempt, a Florin 3-pointer, but Foster grabbed the offensive rebound. Florin then found Davis with 47 seconds left to hit what would prove to be the game-winning bucket. He also got fouled in the process and completed the three-point play to put EU ahead 81-79. On Brandeis's next possession, the Judges ran their weave offense, and Moton went to the rack and was fouled with 32 seconds left. He hit the first foul shot, but missed the second. Although Moton was able to get his hands on the rebound, the refs ruled he was out of bounds, giving the ball back to Emory. The Eagles' Will Trawick hit two foul shots to put them ahead, 83-80. The Judges were unable to shake Retos free for another tying shot, and the home team pulled out the win.
Brandeis will conclude its regular season with Senior Day next Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m. against rival NYU.