With a victory in the sixth-ranked men's basketball team's season-ending game against New York University last Saturday well in hand, coach Brian Meehan inserted little-used center John Saucier '08 into the contest to allow the Judges' five seniors to leave the court together in the final home game of their careers with a standing ovation from the 1,100-person crowd. "We came in as a group, and now, we left as a group," guard Joe Coppens '08 said.

But while the seniors contributed heavily, it was the Judges' stifling defense, along with underclassman forward Terrell Hollins' '10 strong inside play that propelled the Judges to a 58-44 win over the Violets. The 44 points were a season-low for NYU, who shot just 33 percent from the field in the loss.

Brandeis ended the year 20-5 overall and 10-4 in the University Athletic Association, improving both of those records by one game over last year's regular-season performance despite playing nearly all season without injured star forward Steve DeLuca '08. The?Judges will return to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and will host Lasell College Friday at 8 p.m.

"We play against top competition," Hollins said. "There are no nights off . Every game is close. We know how to play games down the stretch."

After the Judges' six seniors-Saucier, DeLuca, starting guards Coppens and Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08, starting center Steve Hill '08 and reserve guard Florian Rexhepi '08-were honored as part of the Senior Day festivities, the two teams played an even first half. The Judges took the lead for good at the 14 minute, 50 second mark, but their 27-21 halftime lead was their biggest in the first half.

However, the Judges opened things up early in the second half. Hollins scored Brandeis' first eight points of the half, and he gave the Judges their first double-digit lead when he tore a rebound away from two Violet players and scored a layup to make the score 42-31 with 11:06 remaining.

"[Coach Brian Meehan] emphasized getting the ball inside and working from the inside out," Graves-Fulgham said. "It opened up some shots and some lanes for people to drive."

After junior center John Mish answered with a layup, Hollins scored again inside and drew the foul. He missed the free throw, but on the ensuing NYU possession, Hollins pressured Violet sophomore guard Omar Meziab well beyond the three-point line, stole the ball and fed Graves-Fulgham for a reverse layup.

The Violets tried to advance the ball quickly, but reserve center Rich Magee '10 swatted sophomore forward Zachary Kuba's layup attempt out of bounds, inspiring the relatively quiet crowd to rise to its feet. Graves-Fulgham rewarded Magee with a backdoor bounce pass on the Judges' next possession, and Magee laid it in with his left hand to give the Judges their largest lead at 48-33 with 9:42 remaining.

The Judges' pressure defense, which had them guarding the Violets closely all the way up the court beyond the three-point line, was too much for the Violets to handle. They only committed 15 turnovers, but struggled to find open shots and even managed to miss two wide-open layups and several other open jumpers.

"They want to play slow-paced, so it was important for us to get ball pressure and get the game at our pace," Hollins said. "We have a deeper team."

Hollins led the way with 17 points, 13 coming in the second half. Graves-Fulgham had 11 points, a game-high nine rebounds and five assists, while Rexhepi, starting for the first time since early December, added 11 points in just 21 minutes of action.

Brandeis will now host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games for the first time since the 1977-78 season. Should the Judges defeat Lasell, they would play the winner of the first-round game between Bowdoin College and Curry College, who play each other Friday at 6 p.m. in Red Auerbach Arena.