BOX
SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. - Senior captain Steve DeLuca (Merrimack,
N.H.) scored a game-high 24 points and junior captain Andre
Roberson (Springfield, Mass.) added 15 points and seven assists as
the visiting Brandeis University Judges held on for a hard-fought
70-60 victory over host Babson College in a non-conference men's
basketball contest at Staake Gymnasium on Tuesday night. With the
win, Brandeis improved to 2-3 on the season, while the Beavers fell
to 4-2.
DeLuca turned in a marvelous performance for the Judges,
shooting 11-for-15 from the floor for 24 points while also adding
eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Roberson hit just
2-of-7 from the field but connected on all 10 of his free throw
attempts for 15 points while also leading all players with seven
helpers. Senior captain Kevin Olson (Rockport, Mass.) and junior
captain Terrell Hollins (Springfield, Mass.) each added 10 points
for Brandeis while combining to shoot 9-for-16 from the field. As a
team, the Judges shot 56.5 percent (26-46) from the floor,
including a 50.0 percent clip (6-12) from three-point range, while
hitting 85.7 percent (12-14) from the line.
Babson was led by another strong performance from sophomore
Shelton Ladson (New York, N.Y.), who poured in a
team-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a sparkling
5-for-7 clip from beyond the arc. Senior captain Zach Etten
(Hollis, N.H.) added 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting,
including a 5-for-8 clip from long range, while Ladson and senior
Pat Belniak (Sutton, Mass.) each grabbed a
team-best six rebounds. First-year Matt Florio (Skillman,
N.J.) contributed some big baskets off the bench,
finishing with seven points, and first-year Lambros
Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.) dished out five assists to go
with five points.
The Beavers led by as many as four twice in the first six
minutes of play, but Olson and DeLuca combined for nine points
during an 11-0 Brandeis run that gave the Judges a 21-14 lead with
11:29 remaining in the opening period. Babson would battle back to
within one on two separate occasions late in the session and would
eventually head into the break trailing by three at 30-27. DeLuca
and Hollins led Brandeis with 11 and 10 points in the first half,
respectively, while Etten paced the Beavers with nine.
After trailing for the final 13:20 of the first half and the
first two and a half minutes of the second, Babson finally pulled
even at 32-32 on a lay-up by Papalambros with 17:28 to go in the
game. Two minutes later, first-year Kris Noonan (Boothbay
Harbor, Maine) pulled down a huge offensive rebound in
traffic and got the ball to Ladson, who drained one of his five
trifectas from deep in the right corner to give the Beavers a 35-32
lead with 15:13 on the clock.
That would prove to be Babson's final advantage of the contest,
as Brandeis erupted for a 16-0 run over the next four and a half
minutes to essentially put the game out of reach. DeLuca keyed the
barrage with nine points, including seven straight during a
90-second span, while Roberson netted five more as the Judges
expanded their lead to 48-35. The Beavers would claw their way back
to within six on two occasions, including a 56-50 margin following
a Noonan lay-up with 3:01 to go, but Roberson sank six consecutive
free throws over the next 70 seconds to help ice the eventual 70-60
Brandeis victory.
After a tough 0-3 start, the Judges will look to get back to the
.500 mark with their third straight win when they host Rhode Island
College in a non-conference game on Thursday at 7 p.m. Babson,
which has now dropped two in a row after beginning the year with
four straight wins, will look to get back on track at the Colby
College Invitational Tournament this weekend. The Beavers will take
on Thomas College in the semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m.
