With 4 minutes, 37 seconds left in Friday's men's basketball game against Carnegie Mellon University, forward Steve DeLuca '08 finished off the Judges' fast break by throwing down a monster left-handed slam right in front of "The Jury," a new student fan section. The only thing more thunderous than DeLuca's dunk was the reaction of the fans, as the student section leapt up in a frenzy that brought Red Auerbach Arena to its feet. As recently as last month, this sort of energy was missing from Brandeis basketball games. However, over the past two weekends, these games have seen a tremendous boost in fan attendance and enthusiasm. Students from a newly-formed fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi, first led the crowd in cheers at the Feb. 2 game against the University of Chicago. With chests painted to spell out "Brandeis" in blue letters, the brothers energized the crowd, running up and down the court screaming for the Judges,

"By [the Chicago game] I was tired of watching [Brandeis basketball games] because they were becoming too much like tennis matches," Aaron Hattenbach '09, who helped organize the fraternity's recent exploits at basketball games, said. "People weren't going crazy. I wanted to make [Brandeis games] like Duke [University] with the Cameron Crazies."

Alpha Delta Phi returned Friday night against Carnegie Mellon to see that they had inspired other students to show their enthusiasm and come out to games. A student fan section called "The Jury" by the Athletic Department now takes up its own area of bleachers designated for it by Athletics. The section filled up so quickly that Alpha Delta Phi couldn't even get seats. But that didn't seem to matter, as the fraternity occupied an entire corner off the court along with other jumping and screaming fans. In all, the game drew over 1,000 fans.

"I've been here three years and I've never seen this many people," Evan Duval '08 said at Friday night's game. "The game hasn't even started, and there are more people here than [were at the games] my first two years combined."

Fanfare at Brandeis basketball games used to be a one-man show. The super-fan was Allen Karon '91, who attends every basketball game, performing chants and sprints along the sideline. Ever-enthusiastic, he wears the same "I'm Allen" shirt to every game, revs up the stands, stomps his feet and shouts "D-UP, D- UP, D-UP. Good D now White!"

Over the past two weekends, Allen's cheering has suddenly been drowned out by The Jury and Alpha Delta Phi. But rather than sulk about losing the spotlight, Allen has embraced his new supporting role.

"I think [all the fan support] is incredible," Allen said. "I really appreciate it because I don't want to be the only one cheering."

The increased fan enthusiasm hasn't gone unnoticed by players and coaches.

"It's great to know the school is supporting us," Amanda Wells '09, a forward on the women's basketball team, said. "When we're on the floor, we try not to focus on the crowd, but when you're on the bench and you see all these people, it makes you so excited."

"It's always nice when you have a crowd," women's basketball coach Carol Simon said. "The team can see all the school spirit. The past two weekends have just been awesome."

For Friday's men's basketball game, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee sponsored the first-ever "Brandeis Beach Bash." The highly-publicized event encouraged students to turn out in their hottest beachwear. The gym was decorated with a Hawaiian theme, including balloons, streamers, inflatable palm trees and posters, all with a Hawaiian theme, while free T-shirts and leis were given out.

While most students didn't come dressed according to the theme, some showed up in creative costumes. Nikki Awaad '07 wore a red, skin-bearing bathing suit, suspenders and a coconut bra, while Mike Schwartz '09 painted his entire face and torso blue.

"My friend told me he was going to paint letters on his chest, and I just decided to take it to the next level," Schwartz said. "They do it at Duke, so why can't we do it here?"

The Athletic Department has given fans extra incentive to attend games by offering free pizza during the halftimes of some basketball games.

Of course, the recent success of both basketball teams hasn't hurt attendance, either. While the women's team made its first-ever NCAA-tournament appearance last spring, the men just clinched their first 15-win season since 1991-1992 Friday.

"[Increased attendance] is about more than just the pizza," Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett said. "The women's team is a winner, and the men's team is doing the best it's done in 20 years. I also think Brandeis has always had school spirit we haven't tapped into correctly."

And while we are only two weeks into the new era of intense fanfare at Brandeis basketball games, it looks like this new culture might be here to stay.

"We're going to make this a tradition here and I will paint my body again," Schwartz said. "As long as I can find paint that's not so toxic.