The final minute of regulation during the men's basketball team's game against Emory University last Friday night looked like a reprieve of the Judges' heartbreaking 71-69 home loss to Washington University in St. Louis Jan. 27.

In just nine seconds, a 75-72 Brandeis lead turned into a 77-75 deficit. After Emory senior guard Spiros Ferderigos hit two free throw shots, Brandeis turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass. Emory junior guard Brian Giometti then sank a three-pointer with 22 seconds left.

"I was running down the floor [on the next possession] saying, 'Oh no, not again.' It's happened to us in so many games," guard Joe Coppens '08 said.

But with four seconds left, guard Andre Roberson '10 took a handoff from Coppens and was fouled on his game-winning three-point attempt from the top of the key. He hit two of three free throws to send the game into overtime, and Brandeis dominated the extra period, never trailing in finally defeating the Eagles 90-85.

"I was trying to go up and shoot it, but as I was shooting it, [Giometti] pushed me in my side and drifted me away from the basket; it got me off balance," Roberson said. "I was open at first, but the window closed on me. I was able to get the foul and capitalize on the free-throws."

Brandeis went 2-0 at home on the weekend, soundly defeating Case Western Reserve University 88-57 last Sunday to move to 16-4 on the season and 6-3 in University Athletic Association play, putting them in a tie for second place with the University of Rochester and the University of Chicago.

"We control our own destiny," Coppens said. "We beat a couple of teams we should have beat and put ourselves in a great position for the future."

Unlike the victory over Emory, last Sunday's game against Case Western was never close. The Judges scored the game's first 11 points and led by as many as 38 points midway through the second half. The blowout allowed coach Brian Meehan to empty his bench, and 12 of the 15 Judges' players scored.

"[Case] has been struggling, so what you want to do is jump on them as quick as you can so that it kind of demoralizes them," Meehan said. "[Blowouts] allow us to play some of the guys that work hard in practice."

The win over Emory, however, had its fair share of drama even before the end of regulation. The Eagles closed out the first half on a 13-3 run to open up a 38-28 lead, and increased their advantage to 45-32 just 2:35 seconds into the second half.

Brandeis slowly battled back, making a number of timely defensive stops.

With 5:19 remaining, guard Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08, on his hands and knees, stole the ball from Emory guard Brian Giometti and tapped it to a wide-open Coppens for an easy layup which cut Emory's lead to 63-62.

Forward Terrell Hollins scored the next six points for Brandeis to tie the game at 68-68 with 3:04 left. After his last score, Graves-Fulgham and Coppens pressured Emory's inbound pass attempt, and Coppens intercepted Emory junior guard John Kresse's lob pass. Coppens dribbled back to the three-point line, and after a pause, sank a shot in front of the Brandeis bench to give the Judges a 71-68 lead, their first since Hollins hit a layup on the first possession of the game.

Still, led by Ferderigos, Emory reclaimed the lead with 22 seconds left before Roberson's free throws.

"A team like [Emory] you can't really put away," assistant coach Eric McKoy said last Friday. "They play so hard you have to hope you get some lucky bounces down the stretch. If you don't put them away early, you give them confidence and they'll stick around until the end."

After scoring a career-high 29 points Feb. 3 at Emory, Roberson had just two points in the first 39:38 last Friday, but spearheaded the Judges' comeback effort with eight points in the final 5:22, including overtime.

Coppens led Brandeis with 23 points, 20 in the second half. The Judges' defense harassed Emory with 13 steals, and after shooting just 40 percent from the field in the first half, their offense bounced back to shoot 62.5 percent after the break.

The Judges look to avenge their Jan. 20 74-68 loss at No. 6 University of Rochester when the Yellowjackets come to Brandeis Friday at 8 p.m. The Judges also play Carnegie Mellon University Sunday at 11 a.m.