WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team scored 15 of the game's first 17 points and the Judges went on to hit a season-high 12 3-pointers as the Judges defeated rival New York University, 80-69, in the University Athletic Association opener for both teams. The Judges snap a four-game skid and improve to 4-6, 1-0 in the UAA, while the Violets fall to 5-6, 0-1 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges never trailed in the game, opening the game on a 15-2 run over the first 5:32 thanks to five points each from senior Jack Fay (New Rochelle, N.Y./Suffield Acad/) and juniors Jordan Cooper (Weston, Fla./Sagemont School) and Nate Meehan (Lowell, Mass./Phillips Andover), who each had a 3-pointer in the stretch.
• Brandeis established a 20-point lead when Meehan and rookie Eric D'Aguanno (Saunderstown, R.I./St. Andrews School) hit back-to-back trifectas to make it 35-15 with 5:52 to go.
• D'Aguanno caught fire again late in the half, scoring eight-straight points to make it 47-27 before the Violets' Jimmy Martinelli scored from long range to make it a 47-30 game at halftime.
• Brandeis still maintained a 19-point lead early in the second half at 55-36 with just 3:20 elapsed when NYU made its biggest run.
• The Violets scored 13 of the next 15 points over a span of just over two-and-a-half minutes, getting within 57-49 on a 3-pointer by senior Ross Udine at the 13:20 mark. He and Cameron Moore each had five points in the run.
• The Judges answered with the next nine points, capped by another D'Aguanno long ball to make it 66-51 at 10:15, and never looked back, leading by as many as 21 en route to the 19-point win.

FOR THE JUDGES

• Four difference Brandeis players scored in double figures, led by Cooper, who scored a game-high 21 points – 11 in the first half and 10 in the second. He shot 9-of-15 overall, 2-of-4 from downtown and 1-of-2 from the line.
• D'Aguanno finished with a career-high 19 points in just 15 minutes off the bench. He tallied 11 points in the first half, when he was 4-of-5 overall and 3-of-3 from downtown, and finished 6-of-9 overall and 5-of-6 from deep.
• Senior Tim Reale (Mason, Ohio/St. Andrews, R.I., School) added 12 points and classmate Robinson Vilmont (Cambridge, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson Acad.) added 10.
• The Judges had three players finished just shy of double-double status, as Cooper and Reale each finished with nine rebounds, while Vilmont had a game-high seven assists.

FOR THE VIOLETS

• NYU got 13 points each from Udine and Moore, while Martinelli finished with 11.
• Martinelli grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, while Udine contributed a team-best five assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges had their best shooting performance since their season opener, hitting 51% (29-57) from the field and 50% (12-24) from 3-point range.
• The 12 3-pointers in the game were Brandeis's most since the final contest of the 2013-14 season, when they hit 14 – also against NYU.
• NYU converted eight offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.
• The win snaps Brandeis's overall four-game losing streak and a three-game streak against NYU.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis returns to UAA play next Friday evening at 8:00 pm against Carnegie Mellon.
• NYU plays host to Case Western Reserve in a conference game at the same time.