WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State men's basketball returned to the court after a brief end-of-the-semester hiatus as the Owls fell to Brandeis University 60-47 in a non-conference matchup from Red Auerbach Arena in Waltham, Mass. on Friday night.

Both teams struggled shooting the ball to begin the first half as the Judges held a slim 8-7 lead just over the midway point in the period. Both teams started to find their rhythm as Westfield and Brandeis exchanged buckets beginning with Toby Harris (Durham, N.C.) who netted a triple, then a two-point jumper after a JT Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) basket gave the judges a five-point lead. Timmy Jacobus (Curacao) answered with a pair of layups with Harris draining a three in between as the Owls trailed 17-13 with under six minutes to play in the half.

In the final minute of the period, Harris hit yet another three to extend the Judges lead to seven. Thompson brought the Owls within two points after hitting a triple along with a pair of free throws, but Harris managed to secure a tip-in at the buzzer to put Brandeis up four at the break.

The Judges opened the second half on a 9-2 run capped off by an Ethan Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y.) jumper to put Brandeis up 37-26. The Judges pushed the lead into double digits with an Edwards three and then a Terrell Brown layup to extend the Judges' lead to 16 points, eventually putting the game out of reach.

Thompson was the leading scorer for the Owls, compiling 11 points. Jeremy Remigio (Santo Domingo, D.R.) and Kumar Brown (Enfield, Conn.) each added six points.

Harris collected a game-high 21 points with Dylan Lien (Northboro, Mass.) contributing 11 points for Brandeis.

Westfield State (1-10) concludes a challenging non-conference schedule and will enter conference play beginning Wednesday, January 4 where the Owls will start their title defense at MCLA for a 5:00 P.M. tipoff.