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BABSON PARK, Mass. -- Brandeis University first-year Youri Dascy (Fall River, Mass.) and junior Vytas Kriskus (Kvedarna, Lithuania) score a game high 17 points each to lead the Judges to a 59-53 win over host Babson College in the second semifinal game of the second annual New England Big 4 Challenge. With the win, #18 ranked Brandeis remains perfect on the season at 7-0 and Babson dips to 3-3. Brandeis will take on Tufts University in the championship game on Sunday at 3pm while Babson will face Salem State in the 1pm consolation game.

Dascy shot 8-10 from the floor for a career high 17 points while also grabbing four rebounds. Kriskus also had a great performance shooting 6-8 from the floor including 3-5 from three point range while also picking up five rebounds. Junior guard Tyrone Hughes (Dorchester, Mass.) finished with a game high six assists.

Babson was led by first-year Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) who finished with 11 points off the bench in just over 20 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Marcus McDermott (Milton, Mass.) followed with 10 points, a game high three steals and six rebounds. Sophomore Russ Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added eight points and junior forward Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.

After a 5-5 tie three minutes in, a three-pointer by Brandeis first-year Ben Bartoldus (Hillborough, N.H.) put the Judges up for good with 16:26 remaining in the half.  Babson was able to stay within six points over the next twelve minutes however Brandeis went on a 7-0 run to end the half and to take the 33-21 lead entering the break.

In the second half the Beavers were able to chip the lead to five with 14:46 remaining after a pair of free throws from Braithwaite and a layup by junior Matt Florio (Skillman, N.J.) however Brandeis went on a 13-4 run over the next seven minutes to take the 14 point lead, 51-37, with 7:31 remaining in the contest. Kriskus had seven of his 17 points during this span. A good three-pointer from Palazini followed by two successful free-throws from the rookie after a Brandeis intentional foul got the momentum going for the Beavers allowing them to go on a run of their own outscoring Brandeis 14-4 to make the score 55-51 in favor of the Judges with 2:11 left in the game. Brandeis went up by six, 57-51, with 25 seconds remaining when Hughes sank two free-throws and Florio answered with two free-throws of his own to come within four, 57-53, however that is as close as Babson would get as Brandeis went on to sink two more foul shots to earn the 59-53 victory.

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Tufts Tops Salem, 80-71, in New England Big 4 Challenge

BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. – All five Tufts University starters scored in double figures and junior Alex Orchowski (Cornwall, N.Y.) added 22 rebounds to power the Jumbos to an 80-71 win over Salem State University in the opening round of the second annual New England Big 4 Men's Basketball Challenge at Babson College on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, Tufts (3-2) advances to Sunday's championship game at 3 p.m., while the Vikings (2-2) will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m. Host Babson and Brandeis University will meet in Saturday's second semifinal matchup.

Orchowski was a monster in the paint for Tufts, scoring 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting while grabbing a game-high 22 boards and blocking three shots. He was joined in double-figures by sophomores Alex Goldfarb (New York, N.Y.) and Scott Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.), who each finished with 18 points and four rebounds, first-year Oliver Cohen (Penn Valley, Pa.), who added 10 points and dished out six assists, and junior Amauris Quezada (New York, N.Y.), who scored 11 points to go with five assists and three steals. The Jumbos turned the ball over 24 times in the contest but made up for it with a commanding 43-28 rebound advantage, including 17 caroms off the offensive glass.

Salem State was led by junior Tristian Shannon (Andover, Mass.), who finished with 15 points, seven boards, and two blocks. Junior Brian Clark (Deerfield, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points and two steals, sophomore Justin Nieves (Lawrence, Mass.) added 10 points and three assists, and senior Nick Linear (Salem, Mass.) contributed eight points and four steals.

Tufts led throughout the contest, opening with a 15-4 run and eventually going up by as many as 12 at 23-11 with nine minutes left in the first half. The Vikings fought back with a 12-4 run that featured four points apiece by Linear and Shannon to get to within four, 27-23, with 6:46 left in the period, but the Jumbos responded with a 12-6 burst that featured six straight points from Anderson to go back up 12 with 1:35 remaining. Sophomore Nate Simpson (Lowell, Mass.) then knocked down a jumper to cut Salem State's deficit back to 10, but Orchowski put back his own miss at the buzzer sounded, giving Tufts a 41-31 edge heading into the break.

The Jumbos increased their advantage to as many as 15 midway through the second half, and still led by as many as 14 following a Goldfarb lay-up that made it 72-58 with 4:10 remaining in the contest. Salem State then made one final push to get back into the game, embarking on an 11-2 burst that culminated with two Nieves free throws to get to within five, 74-69, with 1:25 left. However, Cohen knocked down four straight foul shots on Tufts' next two possessions and Anderson added two more with 24 seconds left as the Jumbos came away with the 80-71 victory.