Brandeis Defeats Salem State 97-65 in Big Four Consolation, Animashaun Nets 1,000th Career Point

SALEM, Mass. - Chandler Jones (Springfield, Mass.) finished with 26 points (FG 10-12), seven rebounds, and seven assists as the Brandeis Judges blazed past the Salem State Vikings 97-65 in the consolation game of the New England Big 4 Challenge on Sunday afternoon at Twohig Gymnasium. The Judges improve to 6-3 on the year while the Vikings drop to 1-8.

Salem State senior Hakeem Animashaun (Dedham, Mass.), who entered the contest needing three points to reach 1,000 for his career, scored 11 points, reaching the milestone with a pair of free throws early in the second half. Animashaun, who played one year at John Jay, is the 25^th Vikings' player to achieve 1,000 points for their career.

Brandeis opened the game on a 9-0 run shooting 3-5 from the floor utilizing great ball movement. The Vikings cut the deficit to 15-13 with 11:29 left in the half as Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.), who had 12 first half points. steadied the offense.

Off a missed shot, Jones pushed the ball and dished it to Eric D'Aguanno (Saunderstown, RI) for a three-pointer making it a 25-17 game. This forced a Salem State timeout with 5:33 to go in the first half. With eight seconds in the first half, Salem State's Fern Bernard (Malden, Mass.) drove to the hoop and made a layup as the buzzer expired, cutting the Brandeis lead to 34-29 at the half. The Judges shot 46.2% (FG 12-26) from the floor while Salem State made 36% (FG 9-25) of their shot attempts. Jones led the half in scoring with 13 points (FG 5-7).

Brandeis heated up from behind the arc in the second half, hitting nine-of-ten field goals from deep. D'Aguanno made five of the Judges' three-point field goals during this run. Brandeis took a commanding 78-51 lead with 8:01 remaining in the second half and were never threatened the rest of the way.

For the game, the Judges converted on 59.3% (FG 35-59) of their field goals while the Vikings shot 42.3% (FG 22-51) from the field.

Brandeis, who were 2-10 (20%) in the first half from three-point range, became scorching hot from three in the second half, shooting 15-20 (75%). 

D'Aguanno put up 21 points (FG 7-12, 3PT 6-11) and Austin Clamage (Lake Forest, Ill.) added 17 points (FG 6-7, 3PT 5-6).

Castillo had 19 points (FG 5-12, 3PT 3-6) and Animashaun scored 11 points (FG 4-6) with seven rebounds. Berard accounted for 14 points for Salem State. 

Jones and Bernard were named to the Big Four All-Tournament team and were joined by: Carson Cohen (Tufts), Andrew Jaworski (Babson) and tournament MVP Frank Oftring (Babson).

The Beavers, who reached the finals for seven consecutive seasons, won their fourth Crotty Cup 99-85 over Tufts in the championship game.