Men's basketball upsets top-ranked Amherst
by Mike Prada
Editor in Chief
Sports | 12/4/07
Posted online at 11:03 PM EST on 12/8/07
/ Last updated at 12:01 PM EST on 12/8/07
As the clock ticked down and the capacity crowd of 1,750 Saturday night serenaded No. 1 Amherst College with chants of "overrated," forward Stephen Hill '08 found himself alone underneath the basket. Rather than opting for a rim-rattling dunk, Hill calmly laid the ball in the basket to jumpstart the Judges' celebration.
Hill's layup punctuated arguably the men's basketball team's biggest regular-season victory in coach Brian Meehan's five-year tenure. Fueled by a hounding defensive effort on senior all-American point guard Andrew Olson, the No. 3 Judges defeated the top-ranked and defending Division III champion Lord Jeffs 72-62, moving to 8-1 on the season following last Thursday's 71-64 overtime loss to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
"When your team puts forth an effort like that, you want them to get what they deserved," Meehan said. "Our guys came today and put forth an unbelievable effort."
As the buzzer sounded, members of "The Jury" student fan section stormed the Red Auerbach Arena floor, waving white towels distributed by WBRS before the game. They mobbed the Judges players, while Amherst left the court dejected by their defeat.
"This whole program has been waiting years for something like this to happen, and it finally has, and it feels good knowing [I] was a part of that," guard Joe Coppens '08 said.
The teams traded the lead through the first half, and the Judges, who continue to play without first-team all-University Athletic Association forward Steve DeLuca '08, inched ahead 39-37 with 15 minutes and three seconds remaining in the game. At that point, Brandeis reeled off a 20-6 spurt to take control.
Coppens fueled the run with six key points. He took a pass from guard Andre Roberson '10 and drained a three-pointer to give the Judges a 44-37 lead. On the ensuing Brandeis possession, after an Olson turnover, Coppens took a handoff and hit a long jumper as senior center Kevin Hopkins hit him in the face for the foul.
Hill's layup punctuated arguably the men's basketball team's biggest regular-season victory in coach Brian Meehan's five-year tenure. Fueled by a hounding defensive effort on senior all-American point guard Andrew Olson, the No. 3 Judges defeated the top-ranked and defending Division III champion Lord Jeffs 72-62, moving to 8-1 on the season following last Thursday's 71-64 overtime loss to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
"When your team puts forth an effort like that, you want them to get what they deserved," Meehan said. "Our guys came today and put forth an unbelievable effort."
As the buzzer sounded, members of "The Jury" student fan section stormed the Red Auerbach Arena floor, waving white towels distributed by WBRS before the game. They mobbed the Judges players, while Amherst left the court dejected by their defeat.
"This whole program has been waiting years for something like this to happen, and it finally has, and it feels good knowing [I] was a part of that," guard Joe Coppens '08 said.
The teams traded the lead through the first half, and the Judges, who continue to play without first-team all-University Athletic Association forward Steve DeLuca '08, inched ahead 39-37 with 15 minutes and three seconds remaining in the game. At that point, Brandeis reeled off a 20-6 spurt to take control.
Coppens fueled the run with six key points. He took a pass from guard Andre Roberson '10 and drained a three-pointer to give the Judges a 44-37 lead. On the ensuing Brandeis possession, after an Olson turnover, Coppens took a handoff and hit a long jumper as senior center Kevin Hopkins hit him in the face for the foul.
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hoops fan
posted 12/10/07 @ 11:23 PM EST
Where can one find pictures of this thrilling Brandeis win?
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