It was a tale of two halves for the men's basketball team on Sunday at Washington University in St. Louis. After bursting out on an early 15-2 run and taking a 36-27 lead into halftime, the Judges' fortunes took a turn for the worse after halftime, as they shot just 5-28 from the field and lost 61-52. After dominating the first half by outrebounding the Bears 26-8 and holding its opponents to 9-28 shooting, Brandeis was unable to find any offense and allowed the Bears 13 points in a row early in the half. Brandeis dropped to 8-7 overall with the defeat, and 1-4 in the UAA conference. The disappointing loss came after a critical 72-60 road win at the University of Chicago on Saturday. The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Judges, and was their first UAA victory of the season. It also marked the first victory for Brandeis at Chicago since the 1993-94 season.

Florian Rexhepi '08 and Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08 led the team with 17 points apiece.

After trailing 37-30 at the half, the Judges opened the second half with a 12-4 run and shot 58 percent from the field in the half to pull away from the Maroons.

"We played really well from beginning to end," coach Brian Meehan said of the Chicago game. "We hung in early, and then in the second half we increased our pressure and cruised coming down the stretch."

Unfortunately for the Judges, their shots did not fall nearly as easily against Washington in the second half.

"We did a good job defending and a good job rebounding the ball, but we just had a lot of shots that went halfway down and out," coach Brian Meehan said.

The Bears' defense adjusted in the second half to force the Judges to take shots from the outside for most of the half. The Judges played into the Bears' strategy by making just 2-14 three-pointers after halftime.

"They were doing a great job of taking away our drives to the basket," Meehan said. "We had wide open looks which were really good shots. It was just something they decided they were going to take a chance on giving up, and they got away with it."

Steve DeLuca '08 led the Judges with 25 points and nine rebounds in the loss. He cited the Judges' lack of intensity after the break as the team's downfall.

"In the second half we played a little hesitant and tentative," DeLuca said. "We stopped executing on offense, started going one-on-one, and just weren't hitting open shots."

Another huge problem for the Judges on Sunday was turnovers, as they committed an uncharacteristically high 23 in the game.

Stephen Hill '08 attributed the Judges' turnover problems to the Bears' pressure defense. "They pressured a lot harder than most teams," Hill said of the Bears. "They picked us up at half court and got right on us."

Other than DeLuca, no Judges player scored in double figures on Sunday, as DeLuca's 25 points represented nearly one half of the team's total.

"He did his job, and we didn't have anyone else to step up and hit shots," Meehan said.

Although the Judges were perfect from the line they were able to take only 10 free throw attempts in the game compared to 21 for the Bears.

Meehan attributed the Judges' inability to get to the line to the officiating.

"They allowed it to be physical, and that's just the way it is," Meehan said.

Hill also attributed the Judges' lack of free-throw opportunities to the officiating.

"I thought there were a couple of calls during the game that we should have gotten," Hill said.

Brandeis gave up three straight offensive rebounds with under two minutes to play, a far cry from its first-half dominance of the glass. Still, the Judges' rebounding was a significant bright spot in their defeat, as they finished with a 45-28 edge on the glass for the game.

"For us to come in against a far bigger team and dominate the glass, I am very satisfied," Meehan said.

The Judges' rebounding was especially impressive considering their lack of a true center. The team's tallest player and only true center, John Saucier '08, is out after surgery on a broken foot.

With this in perspective, Meehan said that he has been happy with the team's performance.

"We are virtually playing with no post presence on either end of the floor, and every game we have still been right there," Meehan said. "Considering what we are and where we are coming from, we are doing a great job."

Looking toward the tough UAA schedule ahead, Meehan stressed that the team will have to adjust, given its small size.

"You play with the guys you have," Meehan said. "There are certain things we won't be able to do well, and post offense is one of them. That's why we don't get really easy baskets on the inside. We have to work hard for the points we do score, and we just will have to do things a little differently."

The Judges return home on Friday to face Case Western Reserve University at 8:00 p.m.