Brian Ellis '11 moved past Tim Colby '71 into 15th place on Bates' all-time scoring list, with 1,192 points. (File photo)

LEWISTON, Maine -- The No. 13 nationally ranked Brandeis University men's basketball team edged host Bates College 53-50 on Tuesday night in a non-conference game at Alumni Gym.

The Judges (11-0) set a team record for their best-ever winning streak to start a season, besting the 1956-57 squad's 10-0 start. Bates fell to 8-6.

Christian Yemga scored a team-high 13 points on 6-8 shooting for the Judges and grabbed six rebounds. Youri Dascy added 12 points on 5-7 shooting and a game-high seven rebounds, plus two blocked shots. Tyrone Hughes filled out the stat sheet with seven assists and six rebounds, and Alex Schmidt added 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting. Brandeis, which came into the game second in Division III in 3-point field goal percentage (44.6%), overcame its worst night of the season from downtown (3-14, 21.4%).

Senior Brian Ellis (Braintree, Mass.) led Bates with 13 points, and sophomore Mark Brust (Duxbury, Mass.) added 12. First-year Luke Matarazzo (Shelton, Conn.) led the Bobcats in assists (3) and steals (3), and also hit a pair of threes in the first half. The Bobcats committed only three turnovers in the game, but shot a season-low 34.5 percent from the field and were outrebounded 36-29.

Brandeis emerged with a 28-23 lead from a first half that featured four ties and three lead changes, finishing out the period with a layup by Dascy and a buzzer-beating jumper by Yemga in the final minute.

The Judges' stifling defense helped them slowly build up an 11-point lead halfway through the second half, at 41-30, and a three by Vytas Kriskus with 6:18 to go put them ahead 48-36.

Bates made a late rally, cutting Brandeis' lead from 49-41 with 3:39 left in the game to 49-45 on Brust's three-pointer with 1:58 left in the game. Yemga hit a jumper to bump the lead back to six, but a jumper by senior Nick Schmiemann (Weymouth, Mass.) with 1:11 to go and a bring-the-house-down three by Brust with 28 seconds left cut it to 51-50 with 28 seconds to go.

Hughes made a pair of free throws for the Judges, and Bates missed two would-be game-tying threes in the last 14 seconds.

Ellis moved past Tim Colby '71 into 15th place on Bates' all-time scoring list, with 1,192 points.

Bates opens NESCAC play on Friday at 6 p.m. at home against No. 6 Williams, followed on Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. No. 5 Middlebury. All home games can be followed via Live Stats and Live Video Webcast.

BOX SCORE: Brandeis 53, Bates 50