Tartans Win 91-83 in Back-and-Forth Contest at Brandeis

(WALTHAM, Mass.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team traveled to Waltham, Massachusetts for a Saturday afternoon University Athletic Association (UAA) tilt against the Judges of Brandeis University and left with a 91-83 victory.

Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 91, Brandeis 83
Records: Carnegie Mellon (13-11, 4-9), Brandeis (14-10, 5-8)
Location: Waltham, Mass. (Red Auerbach Arena)

How it Happened

• Three straight buckets by junior Justin Allen gave the Tartans an early 10-5 lead. Following a jumper by Brandeis' Toby Harris, Allen made it four straight baskets and the Tartans led 12-7 four minutes into the contest.
• With Carnegie Mellon holding a 17-12 lead with 12:15 on the clock, Brandeis used an 11-0 run over the next four minutes and took a 23-17 advantage.
• The Cardinal and Gray responded, scoring the next seven points to retake the lead at 24-23 at the seven-minute mark.
• Over the final seven minutes of the half, the lead changed hands nine times with neither team leading by more than four points during the span, as the Tartans took a 45-44 lead into the break.
• The back-and-forth contest continued into the second half, as the lead switched 14 times with the score tied on nine other occasions over the final twenty minutes with neither team leading by more than four points until the closing seconds of the contest.
• With 2:47 to play and the score knotted at 81-all, graduate student R.J. Holmes connected on a jumper to give the Tartans an 83-81 lead. The Tartans then grew the lead to 85-81 on a layup by sophomore Isaac Higgs with 1:25 on the clock.
• Following a bucket by Brandeis, Holmes drained another jumper which made the score 87-83. The Tartans then added a fastbreak layup by junior Buckley DeJardin and a pair of foul shots by freshman Alex Hassanein in the closing 15 seconds of the contest to seal the 91-83 victory.

Tartan Stats

• The Tartans shot 52.1% from the field (37-71) and 34.8% from behind the arc (8-23).
• Allen finished the game with a game-high 32 points after he converted 14-of-27 from the floor. The junior had seven rebounds as well.
• Holmes shot 11-of-15 from the floor and ended with a season-high 26 points, He also grabbed a team-best nine rebounds and recorded a season-high three steals.
• DeJardin chipped in with 12 points a tied a career-high with eight rebounds.
• Senior Nolan Casey tied a season-high with five assists in the win.

Judges Stats

• The Judges shot 42.6% from the field (29-68) and 37.9% from behind the arc (11-29).
• Harris led Brandeis with 26 points. Elias Rodl finished with 19 points and Jake Bender had 14 points.
• Bender handed out a game-high six assists.

Game Notes

• The all-time series with Brandeis in now tied at 36-36.
• Allen has recorded 30 or more points in seven games this season and 12 in his career.
• Holmes has recorded 20 or more points in three contests this season.
• Allen now has 1,454 points for his career ranking third all-time in program history.
• Holmes now has 1,385 points for his career ranking fourth all-time in program history.
• Holmes now has 851 rebounds for his career ranking fifth all-time in program history. He needs two more to move into fourth all-time.

Up Next

• The Tartans will end the regular season on Saturday, March 1, with a 1:00 p.m. tip against Case Western Reserve University.