Bates College guard Max Hummel manages to get a shot off after being fouled by Brandeis ‘Corey Sherman during the first half of Saturday’s game in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)

Bates College guard Max Hummel manages to get a shot off after being fouled by Brandeis’ Corey Sherman during the first half of Saturday’s game in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)

LEWISTON — Bates took a three-point lead into halftime over Brandeis in its men’s basketball season opener on Saturday, but one Judge had yet to be heard from in Alumni Gym.

At the start of the second half, Chandler Jones scored the first seven points for Brandeis and jump-started the Judges’ big second half en route to a 54-48 victory over Bates.

“I challenged him a little bit at halftime because he is our best player,” Brandeis head coach Jean Bain said. “He hadn’t scored in the first half and I didn’t think he had played hard so I challenged him, our staff challenged him, and he responded like he was supposed to do. I thought he was tremendous.”

Jones scored all of his 11 points in the second half to give Brandeis the only real edge it could find. For the Judges, shot selection was the main change at halftime.

“As a team we weren’t driving the ball a lot and were settling for threes,” Jones said. “The main goal in the second half was to drive the ball and really drive and score.”

Collin Sawyer scored nine points in the first half to lead the Judges, while Max Hummel scored eight, including six at the end of the half.

While Jones helped turn a 27-24 halftime deficit into a 35-31 lead, Brandeis went cold. From 16 to 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Judges didn’t score.

That’s when James Mortimer scored a put-back layup and got fouled for a three-point play, followed by a dunk from Bates’ Kenny Aruwajoye to take a 36-35 lead. Bates made a surge, but Brandeis found its footing once again.

Sam Nassar took the lead back for the Judges with two of his seven points on the day. The Judges went up 43-37 before Jeff Spellman hit a three to put Bates back within three.

Brandeis scored on a jumper, but Bates answered again with a Nick Gilpin three pointer, part of his six points as well as his team-high eight rebounds.

Brandeis was getting help from everywhere, with eight different players scoring on the day.

“I just told them that being on the road is a different atmosphere and out of our comfort zone,” Bain said. “It’s going to be a one possession game and you have to keep grinding and stay with it. Our kids did a tremendous job, one-through-11.”

Bates tied the game at 45 when Spellman stole the ball and found Andrew Snoddy on the outlet pass for an easy breakaway bucket.

Brandeis’ Latye Workman scored two free throws, then followed them up with a block on Gilpin to save the two-point lead.

With about a minute left, Jones drove to the hoop and scored while getting fouled.

“I saw an open lane once I got the pass from Latye on the skip, I just saw a lane to drive and my man stepped up and I just scored it.,” Jones said.

Jones’ three-point play was the bucket that put the game out of reach of Bates. The Judges scored four more free throws at the end to get the victory.

“I thought we had some decent looks that we just didn’t make consistently all game but down the stretch their players made some plays, we got some looks and didn’t make them,” Bates coach Jon Furbush said. “They just made some plays in big moments in big moments and we came up just short.”

Sawyer matched Jones with 11 points for Brandeis, while Spellman led the way with 12 for the Bobcats.

Bates College’s Nick Gilpin, right, defends Collin Sawyer of Brandeis during Saturday’s game in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham)

Bates College men’s basketball head coach Jon Furbush looks out onto the court during Saturday’s game agaisnt Brandeis. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Brandeis’ Kyle Downing, right, blocks a shot by Bates’ Jeff Spellman during the first half of Saturday’s game in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)