After squeezing out a comeback win in the first game of their UAA road trip against Case Western Reserve University, the Judges needed more to muster a win Sunday. Playing in Atlanta only two days after playing in Cleveland, the Judges had led by as many as 14 in the second half, but were tied with Emory with just over a minute remaining.

Then Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08 came through for the Judges-scoring the tie-breaking lay-up as they went on to beat the Eagles 71-66.

Co-captain Bryan Lambert '05 led a two-game effort for the Judges, bringing their conference win total to three, matching the team's totals from the two previous seasons. Lambert led the team in scoring and rebounding in both games.

"I feel like I came back [from the break] a little stronger," Lambert said. "As the team gets better, I like to think that I get better. As the games get bigger, I like to be the guy with the ball, taking an active role in leading the team on the floor."

Although the Eagles grabbed 10 more rebounds than the Judges, Brandeis relied on consistent free-throw shooting and scrappy defense to create turnovers and stay close early on. It was a back-and-forth game that started out with Emory jumping to an 11-0 lead in the first four minutes.

The Judges came roaring back, going on a 20-point run and eventually ending the half with a 37-27 lead. The second half was also up-and-down, and with under four minutes left the Eagles held the lead 64-60. But the Judges buckled down on defense and allowed only two points from the Eagles for the rest of the game.

Along with Lambert, Florian Rexhepi '08 and Steve DeLuca '08 produced the bulk of the scoring load for the team, with 18 and 14 points, respectively. In addition, Graves-Fulgham and Rocco Toppi '08 combined with the other three for an impressive 24 of 34 shots from the floor.

"We have a very talented team," Toppi said. "We knew coming into the season that we had a chance to be one of the top teams in the UAA."

"I think every game we get better," Lambert said. "We're playing good basketball right now, we're gonna be even better at the end of next week. We're developing at a faster pace than most teams develop, so it's really exciting to see."

It was another comeback win for the Judges on Friday. Brandeis trailed late in the second half, but closed the game on a 26-point run to beat Case Western Reserve University 71-56 in Cleveland. Omri Ayalon '05 had a season-high 17 points in just 20 minutes off the bench, while Lambert chipped in with 22.

In a game that featured eight ties and 12 lead changes the home team ultimately fell short because of poor play from its bench players, all of whom only had nine points combined.

Case Western led by as many as nine with less than 13 minutes left.

The Judges responded with a 10-point run, and the teams went back and forth until finally Toppi gave the Judges the lead permanently with a three-pointer with 5:36 remaining.

The Judges struggled from beyond the arc, only sinking five of 21 three-point attempts. The usually sharp shooting guards were shut out from three-point range, while the five starters made only one shot out of 10.

Bolstered by Lambert's 71 percent accuracy, the Judges still managed 45.8 percent shooting for the game. Buckets by Ayalon came at crucial times to hold off Case Western.

"We had [Rexhepi and Graves-Fulgham] getting into foul trouble early," Ayalon said. "So we needed somebody off the bench, and I was able to provide it. I came out and hit my first three and got some confidence and really started to roll. I really wanted to come through for the team, and everything worked out."

After three UAA victories, the Judges feel they are looking toward a very bright future that may arrive even earler than previously expected.

"The future is limitless for this team," Toppi said. "With all the Freshman we have, we can do anything we want as long as we work hard."

With every conference win, the Judges raise the bar on their own expectations for the season.

"These two wins put us right back in the race for first place in the UAA which gives us the berth into the NCAA tournament," Lambert said.

The Judges host Washington University of St. Louis on Friday at 8 p.m. before playing visitor University of Chicago Sunday at 1 p.m.