The men's basketball team knew what was coming in the final seconds of its game on Saturday at Tufts University, but the Judges still just couldn't stop it. Tufts junior point guard and captain David Shepherd scored the game-tying basket with 1.3 seconds left in regulation, and the Jumbos went on to bury the Judges in overtime and take the game 86-72. Tufts was a perfect 6-6 from the field in overtime, outscoring the Judges 24-10. Brandeis lost a game in which it was leading with less than twenty seconds left for the second time this season, dropping to 3-2.

In the huddle, Judges coach Brian Meehan told his players that Tufts' final offensive play would be a screen at the top of the key for Shepherd, who would either drive to the hoop for a layup, or kick it out for a three. Brandeis stretched its defense on the inbounds pass, but Shepard drove all the way to the basket for the tying layup.

"We knew what they would do, and we knew that they would keep the ball in Shepherd's hands," Meehan said. "We did a pretty good job of limiting their options. [Shepherd] just made a good, strong move, and sometimes you just have to give a guy credit for making a big play."

Brandeis Forward Steve DeLuca '08 finished with a team-high 20 points for the Judges, as well as eight rebounds and four blocks, while Stephen Hill '08 posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Shepard had 15 points and five assists.

"All the momentum was tossed at the end of regulation," DeLuca said. "The crowd was getting into it a lot, and they just got into our heads a little bit at the end."

Whatever momentum the Judges had was lost early after the overtime tip-off. Jumbos' sophomore forward Jake Weitzen hit a deep three-pointer less than a minute into overtime to put the Jumbos up 69-64, and the the Judges never threatened the rest of the game.

"That really hurt," Meehan said. "You could see the wind come out of us. We were caught off guard that he would pull the trigger on that."

The Judges lead most of the way in regulation, but they were unable to hit late free throws to put the game away. DeLuca and point guard Florian Rexhepi '08 both missed the front ends of their one-and-one free throw chances in the final minute of regulation, and Tufts scored on each ensuing possession after the misses. With twelve seconds remaining, Rexhepi hit only one of his free throw attempts to put Brandeis up 62-60 before Shepherd's game tying layup. The Judges hit 15 of 20 free throws in the game, but missed three of four in the final minute.

"The game was in hand; all we had to do was hit some free throws and the game would've been put away," Meehan said. "That's how you win the close games, by hitting free throws late."

"A free throw is a free throw, it doesn't matter if you are a freshman, sophomore, or senior," Hill said. "When it comes down to the end of the game you just have to hit them, and we didn't do that tonight."

The Judges' second-half struggles stemmed from poor shooting from the field as well, as they shot only 9-28 for 32.1 percent, while Tufts shot 60 percent.

"We ran good offense, we got open shots, but when the ball isn't falling for you it makes everything such a grind," Meehan said.

DeLuca's solid game was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing day for the Judges.

"[DeLuca's] been playing great, but I just think he needs help," Meehan said. "Some other guys have to start playing better."

Last Tuesday the Judges defeated visiting Babson College 67-65. Babson made a strong push in the second half, taking the lead on a 14-5 run. But the Judges responded with a 9-2 run on their own, largely due to the inside rebounding of DeLuca, who led the Judges on the day with 13 points and a career high 14 rebounds.

The Judges will try to rebound in their next game today at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. at 8 p.m.