Courtesy Trinity Sports Information

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Junior forward Steven DeLuca (Merrimack, N.H.) scored a game-high 24 points, including 10 in overtime, to lead the Brandeis University Judges to a 77-70 win over the Trinity College Bantams in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament this evening at Rhode Island College.  Trinity, ranked No. 20 in the nation, closes the season with a 21-5 record, while the Judges improve to 20-6.

Trinity held a five-point lead at 53-48 with just under four minutes left in the game after seven straight points by senior guard Kino Clarke (Brooklyn, N.Y.), but Brandeis scored eight of the game's final 11 points to force the overtime.  Judge junior guard Joe Coppens (Rockland, Mass.) blocked a Trinity shot on the defensive end and hit a three-pointer from the top of the key on the ensuing Judge possession with 26 seconds left to tie the game at 56-56.  The Bantams brought the ball up for the last shot and Clarke pulled up for a 15-footer from the right wing that hit the back of the rim as time expired.

Brandeis opened the overtime with a layup and a trey by DeLuca and never looked back, making five out of six shots from the field, all three of its three-point tries, and all eight of its free throws for a total of 21 points in the extra frame.  Clarke made a trey with just over three minutes left in overtime to cut the lead to 64-61, but DeLuca answered with a jumper from the right corner and the Judges made six out of six from the foul line down the stretch to offset late treys by Clarke, senior guard Patrick Martin (Springfield, Mass.), and sophomore forward Aaron Westbrooks (Dublin, Ireland). 

In the first half, both defenses were aggressive and effective, as Trinity shot 31.3 percent from the field and made just two three-pointers in 12 tries and Brandeis shot 33.3 percent from the floor.  Judge junior guard Florian Rexhepi (Skopje, Macedonia) scored his team's first seven points and Brandeis scored the next seven in a row to take a 14-7 lead with 13 minutes left in the half.  Patrick Martin answered with seven straight points to make the score 15-14 in Brandeis' favor and junior forward Robert Taylor (Dorchester Center, Mass.) made a 15-foor jumper from the corner to give the Bantams the lead at 16-15.  The teams played even the rest of the way leading up to the break. 

Clarke finished with 20 points, including four three-pointers, while Pat Martin scored 19 points and dished out five assists for the Bantams.  Taylor contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots off the bench, and classmate Russ Martin (East Longmeadow, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 13 boards.  Coppens joined DeLuca in double figures in scoring with 17 points and added nine rebounds for Brandeis.  Rexhepi finished with 14 points and DeLuca pulled down eight rebounds for the Judges.