WALTHAM, MA – The University of Rochester men's basketball team fell to the Brandeis University Judges, 87-70 on Sunday afternoon inside Red Auerbach Arena, dropping their third-straight to open University Athletic Association conference play.
 
Despite trailing by just four at the half, Rochester went cold in the second period, connecting on just 9-of-30 field-goal attempts, while the Judges shot 47.1 percent, 16-of-34, and 50.0 percent for the game.
 
Justin Odibo got the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard first, a little over 10 seconds into the contest, but six-straight points from the Judges quickly gave Brandeis the lead.
 
The first of nine-made threes from Brandeis, the first coming from Jai Deshpande off Elias Rodl's assist, extended the Judges' lead to five, 11-6, with 14:46 remaining in the first half, while Enrique Perez answered Bernard Dushie Jr.'s triple with another for the home squad, putting Brandies up seven just shy of the 11-minute mark of the first.
 
Two more baskets from Gur Dhillon and Aedan Using stretched the Judges' lead out to double digits for the first time, 20-10 with 9:32 until the halftime buzzer, but a 7-0 run over the next 1:37 kept Rochester within striking distance.
 
Four points from Odibo, two via a jumper and another two from the free-throw line, where Rochester shot 19-for-21 on the afternoon, cut the deficit to six, with Tomiwa Adetosoye's three-point play made it a three-point game with under eight minutes left in the first.
 
And despite a Rodl three on Brandeis' ensuing possession, jumpers by John Mayhew and Adetosoye over the next minute made it a two-point game. Two free throws from Corvin Oprea then tied it with 5:25 left in the first, while Mayhew matched Alex Zakheim's three-pointer with one of his own to keep the score level at 30-all with 4:32 left.
 
Zakheim, though, scored six of the next eight points to help Brandeis retake the lead.
 
Just shy of a minute-and-a-half left, Jordan Owusu cashed a triple to pull Rochester back within one, while Adetosoye matched Rodl's jumper to keep UR down by just a point. However, Rodl's late three gave the Judges a four-point lead at the break, 41-37, and Brandeis would quickly add to it in the second half.
 
With just three points, all via free throws over the first four-plus minutes of the second half, the Judges quickly extended their lead back to nine on Zakheim's layup with 16:11 left, and then took a double-digit lead on Zakheim's three-pointer just shy of the 15-and-a-half-minute mark of the second half.
 
Theo Murray notched Rochester's first field goal of the second half with 15:49 to play, but another three-minute scoreless stretch saw the Judges extend their lead to 14, 56-42 with 13:08 remaining.
 
After Rodl and Oprea traded threes just past the eight-minute mark, Odibo and Owusu helped cut Brandeis' lead to seven, 67-60, with 5:46 left. However, after a pair of empty trips down the floor, Rodl stretched the Judges' lead back to double-digits with a three, and then hit a jumper to make it a 12-point game with 3:26 remaining.
 
An 11-2 run then helped the Judges take their largest lead of the afternoon, 83-64, before six Adetosoye free throws down the stretch, part of an 11-for-11 performance at the line for the senior, cut the final deficit to 17, 87-70, before the final buzzer sounded.
 
The loss, the 'Jackets' sixth-straight, drops Rochester to 7-7 (0-3 UAA) on the year, while the Judges move to 9-5 (2-1 UAA) with the victory.
 
Adetosoye led the 'Jackets offensively with 19 points, shooting 11-for-11 from the line to tie the program record for free-throw percentage in a single game, adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
 
Owusu and Odibo joined the senior scoring in double figures with 12 and 10 points apiece, respectively, while Oprea led URochester on the glass with eight rebounds.
 
As a team, Rochester shot just 33.3 percent (23-for-69), while the Judges connected on 50 percent of their shot attempts (33-for-66), and outrebounded UR, 45-35.
 
Rochester will look to bounce back when it returns to the friendly confines of the Louis Alexander Palestra for another UAA weekend against Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve, beginning on Friday, Jan. 23, against the Tartans. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.