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Brown University
3-5
Johnson & Wales (RI)
3-1
Rafael Maia's Double-Double Leads Brown Over Johnson & Wales, 75-65
11/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Providence, R.I. - Four Brown players scored in double figures, led by senior forward Rafael Maia's 12 points and 16 rebounds, as the Bears held off a pesky Johnson & Wales team, 75-65, Sunday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
Brown earned its second straight win improves to 3-5 on the season, while Johnson & Wales falls to 3-1 overall.
"Johnson & Wales is a good team, who challenged us this afternoon," said Brown head coach Mike Martin. "We didn't play our best game, but we'll get better. We've played eight games in 16 days, but there's no excuse for getting out-hustled and turning the ball over."
The Bears out-rebounded the Panthers by a 49-38 margin, but Johnson & Wales forced 20 Brown turnovers.
Maia, who led the Ivy League in rebounding in each of the last two years, connected on 6-of-10 field goals in scoring 12 points, while handing out four assists and registering three steals. Maia's 16 rebounds were a season high.
"Energy is important and Rafael looked like he was battling four blue jersey's all by himself out there," added Martin.
Bears' sophomore forward Leland King connected on 8-of-13 field goals and led the Bears in scoring, coming off the bench to score 16 points and grab nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Steven Spieth chipped in with 15 points, for the Bears, hitting 11-of-13 free throws, while sophomore guard JR Hobbie netted 13 points, doing most of his damage from beyond the three-point arc, hitting 4-of-7 treys.
Tom Garrick led Johnson & Wales with a game high 29 points and eight rebounds. Quarry Greenaway tossed in 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Panthers.
Showing no ill effects of a nine game road trip, Brown established an inside game in the opening eight minutes with Maia dominating the court, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds in the early going to help Brown build a 19-11 lead.
The Bears' biggest lead of the opening twenty minutes came at the 4:57 mark, 30-19, when Spieth connected on three free throws.
Brown couldn't completely put the game away in the second half and the Panthers cut Brown's lead to five points, 67-62, on a Tom Garrick lay-up with1:51 remaining in the game.
But the Bears put the game away with a lay-up by Spieth and by hitting six-of-six free throws down the stretch.
The Bears are back in action again on Wednesday, December 3, hosting American University. Tip-off is 7pm at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
