Nighthawks Fall to Judges at Brandeis Classic; Meet Mules In Colsolation Game at 1pm

Waltham, Mass.—The Newbury College men's basketball team dropped their second game of the season to Brandeis University at the Brandeis Classic Friday evening in Waltham, Mass., 89-60.

The Judges were led by junior forward Vytas Kriskus (Kvedarna, Lithuania/Holderness School), with 19 points making five-of-eight 3-pointers. Rookie guard Ben Bartoldus (Hillborough, N.H./Proctor Acad.) notched 14 points and four rebounds against the Nighthawks. Another rookie, guard Anthony Trapasso (Sterling, Mass./St. John's) had a fine night with 15 points, making three-of-three 3-pointers and four rebounds.  Rookie Derek Retos (No. Attleboro, Mass./Brimmer and May School) also scored in double digits for the Judges, with 12 points.  Junior guard Tyrone Hughes (Dorchester, Mass./Taft School) led the Judges with six assists.

For Newbury, sophomore guard Tim Young (Brockton, Mass./ Brockton) led the game in scoring with 20 points.  Another sophomore, forward Peterson Bernard (Boston, Mass./ Madison Park) had a big night, shooting 7-for-10 from the floor for 15 points and recording six rebounds.  Rookie guard Eric Watson (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) registered double figures tallying 13 points and a rebound.

In the first half, the Judges had a 55.2% (16-29) shooting percentage. Newbury was shooting at 50% (13-26) in the first half, falling to 41.9% (13-31) in the second half.  In a game of threes for Brandeis, the Judges finished the game shooting 16-for-28 on three-pointers and a three-point shooting percentage of 57.1%.

Bartoldus opened the game with back-to-back threes and a breakaway layup in the first two and a half minutes of play, bringing the score to 8-2.  Peterson answered back with a layup, before Kriskus sunk his first trifecta of the night. 

At 13:42, the Nighthawks were able to tie the score at 13-13 before Brandeis made a big run.  A foul on Newbury gave possession to the Judges and Retos hit his first shot from beyond the arc with an assist from senior forward Christian Yemga (Yaounde, Cameroon/ Proctor Acad.).  Retos followed up with a steal and Kriskus put up yet another long ball for the Judges, putting them ahead 19-13.  The Nighthawks got back in the game with a layup from Bernard.  But Retos immediately fired back with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Judges a 10 point lead at 25-15. 

Rookie forward Justin Franks (Mamaroneck, N.Y./ Rye Neck) hit a good jumper at 8:01 to bring the Nighthawks within eight points, with a score of 29-21, their smallest deficit for the rest of the game.  Outscoring the Nighthawks the rest of the half 15-8, the Judges closed the half with a 15 point lead.

Leading the Nighthawks, 46-31, at the start of the second half, the Judges continued their charge, shooting 57.7% from the floor.  Brandeis outscored their opponent 14-5 at the start of the half, to bring the score to 60-36.  The Judges cruised from there, never allowing their lead to dip bellow 19 points.

In the second half, Brandeis made another eight 3-pointers, shooting 8-for-15, with two coming from Kriskus in just under three minutes of play.  Trapasso scored 11 points in the second half, with nine of those points coming from downtown.

Brandeis advances to play Curry in tomorrow's Judges Classic championship game at 3 p.m. The Colonels knocked off Colby College, 73-71, in the second game of the doubleheader. Colby and Newbury will meet in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

- Story provided by: Adam Levin, Sports Information Director - Brandeis University

- Game photo by: Samantha Yanofsky