WALTHAM, Mass. –  The Brandeis University men's basketball team opened its 2024-25 campaign with an 85-79 victory over Western New England University as senior Toby Harris (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) scored 21 points and had eight rebounds in his return from injury.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 1-0.
• Western New England University, 1-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Harris, a D3hoops.com preseason All-American, missed all but three games last season, but returned in style tonight. He scored a game-high 21 points in just 19 minutes coming off the bench.
• Harris connected on 6-of-8 from the field, 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and 4-of-6 from the line before fouling out with five minutes to go. He scored eight points in the first half and exploded for 13 in the second.
• Harris also tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds.
• Two other Judges scored in double figures tonight. Junior Ethan Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y./Woodstock Academy) notched 10 of his 14 points in the second half, while graduate student Sam Adusei (Worcester, Mass./St. George's School) had eight of his 11 after the break.
• Brandeis nearly had two others reach double digits, as first-year Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany/Schulund Leistungssportzentrum Berlin) and grad transfer Jai Deshpande (San Carlos, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) scored nine in their Brandeis debuts. Rodl scored all of his nine points in the first half, while Deshpande's all came in the second.
• Graduate student Aedan Using (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) matched Harris with eight rebounds, while blocking two shots. Adusei led all players with six assists.
• Western New England's Tim Restall matched Harris for game-high honors with 21 points, hitting 9-of-16 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line. He was one of four Golden Bears to reach double digits in scoring – Brian Geitner added 17, Jake Harrison had 13 and Luka Vlajkovic added 10 off the bench.
• Restall and Cody Palazzesi led the visitors with six rebounds each, and Restall led WNE with four assists. Harrison paced a tough Western New England defense with six steals.
• Brandeis outscored Western New England from 3-point range, 48-6, as eight different Judges hit from beyond the arc, including five players with multiple 3s. Brandeis connected on 51.6% from downtown (16-31), including 72.7% in the second half (8-11). Western New England hit just 2-of-12 for the game (16.7%).
• WNE had a slim 20-17 margin in points off turnovers, while the Judges had a 33-30 rebounding margin. The Golden Bears produced a 36-14 scoring advantage in the paint, but Brandeis's long-distance attack more than countered.
• The first half featured two ties and five lead changes, with neither team going ahead by more than six points. Brandeis took a slim 36-35 into the locker room thanks to a late Adusei free throw.
• WNEU answered from the line to take a brief 37-36 lead starting the second half. Adusei answered from the stripe to put Brandeis on top for good with 17:58 remaining. That sparked a 15-2 run that put the game away, with a Deshpande fast-break layup giving Brandeis a 52-39 lead with 13:50 remaining.
• The Judges would lead by as many as 18 points before a Western New England press helped the Golden Bears back into the contest and accounting for the final six-point margin of victory.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis will play their next two games in the Black Coaches Classic at UMass Boston. The Judges meet Lesley University on Friday at 5 p.m. and Colby-Sawyer College Saturday at 11 a.m.