Untimely injuries mixed with stiff competition on the road were too challenging for the men's basketball team to overcome last weekend, as Brandeis lost to the University of Rochester 71-62 Friday night and 86-74 Sunday to Carnegie Mellon University. The Judges were without center Steve Hill '08 for both games, after he suffered an ankle sprain last Sunday at Case Western. Hill became the latest player to succumb to the injury bug this season, after John Saucier's '08 season-ending knee injury. The team fell to 12-10 overall and 5-6 in the University Athletic Association.Steve DeLuca '08 continued his impressive season Sunday, pacing the Judges with 27 points.Carnegie Mellon, currently ranked 16th in Division III, was prepared for the Judges' fast-paced offense, and responded with better than 50 percent shooting from the floor with 10 three-pointers.

"I think Carnegie Mellon is the one team in the league that doesn't mind running up and down. In fact they prefer that style," Head Coach Brian Meehan said. "They prefer to run up and down and make it a shootout because they are all seniors and they have the ability to score a lot of points, shoot from the outside and hurt you inside."

The Judges' lack of size due to Hill's injury led to their major deficiency in rebounds, as the Tartans pulled down 40 compared to the Judges' 27.

"I don't mind running up and down, but you have to control the boards in order to do so," Meehan said. "Until we become a really good rebounding team, we are going to continue to struggle to win games."

On Friday, the Judges trailed by as many as 17 in the second half at Rochester but stormed back to pull within one with less than two minutes remaining. DeLuca led the Judges with 16 points, while forward Rocco Toppi '08 chipped in with 15.

Rebounding also haunted the Judges Friday night. In the final minute, the team gave up an offensive rebound off a missed freethrow that sealed their loss.

"We had a really good chance to win that game, but you can't play 39 minutes. You have to play the full 40." Meehan said.

The Judges trailed 35-21 at the half against Rochester in the slow-paced game, but attacked the basket more aggressively in the second half. After failing to get to the foul line once in the first period, Brandeis shot 14 free throws after the break. Still, the early deficit was too much for the team to overcome.

Although DeLuca continued to carry the Judges offensively this weekend, his efforts could not lead the team to victory as they had in the previous two games.

Meehan stressed that because the team is shorthanded due to injuries, DeLuca's workload has been higher than usual. The forward played 39 of 40 minutes against Carnegie Mellon. With the absence of Hill, rookie David Mael '09 started at center and only contributed three rebounds and one point.

"I don't think it's much of a burden," DeLuca said. "I think everyone on the team can score, but sometimes we rush things and we can't get the ball in positions where people need it to score."

The play of rookie Kevin Olson '09 was one bright spot in the Judges' loss on Sunday. Olson, who is still a work in progress on the defensive end of the floor, infused a dangerous outside shooting threat into the Judges' lineup with 12 points on 5-9 shooting in just 20 minutes of playing time.

"He's our best shooter by far," Meehan said. "We'd love to be able to play him more, but we have to be cognizant of both ends of the floor."

Meehan said that the Judges are bound to improve when they reach full strength and get more help inside, but for now the team needs to be patient.

"It will all come together, but now we are asking guys to play out of position," Meehan said.

The Judges return home next weekend to play Washington University Friday at 8 p.m. and the University of Chicago Sunday at 1 p.m.