Prior to the men's basketball team's first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with Lasell College last Friday night, forward Stephen Hill '08 had a feeling that guard Florian Rexhepi '08 was due for a big game."I was actually calling [it] before the game. I said 'Watch everybody, [Rexhepi's] going to have a big game tonight because the other team's going to sleep on him,'" Hill said. "We all know [Rexhepi's] a prime time player; look at what he did last year in the tournament."

Rexhepi delivered on Hill's prediction, leading the Judges with 19 points on eight for 11 shooting from the field in just 18 minutes of action during the Judges' 80-59 win over Lasell. He effectively put the game out of reach in the second half, scoring 11 straight points to increase Brandeis' lead from 60-47 to 71-50.

"It's been a good feeling to contribute a little more than I've been able to," Rexhepi told reporters after the Lasell victory. "I just happened to be the guy tonight. You can expect that any game from any of these guys."

Rexhepi has endured an up-and-down senior campaign. He averaged 12.4 points per game during the 2004 to 2005 season en route to earning University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year honors and earned all-UAA second team honors following his sophomore season as well as UAA honorable mention honors following his junior season. In last season's tournament run, Rexhepi combined for 33 points in two games, helping the Judges advance to the second round before falling to Rhode Island College.

This season, however, coach Brian Meehan inserted guard Kevin Olson '09 into the starting lineup eight games into this season, sending Rexhepi to the bench, where he averaged just 4.6 points per game in the regular season. But as he did last season, Rexhepi played a pivotal role in postseason play.

"[Rexhepi's performance] is very satisfying. I'm happy for him because he's a great kid, he's worked hard and never complained about [losing his starting spot]," Meehan said. "He's just hung in there; he's kind of slumped a little bit, but he's fought his way through it."

After his 19-point performance last Friday, Rexhepi scored just five points in the team's 68-53 second round tournament win over Bowdoin College last Saturday, but Meehan noted his impact on the game. After Bowdoin went on a 16-2 run to take a one-point lead with 13 minutes, 10 seconds left in the game, Rexhepi snuck underneath the basket and sank two free throws to give the Judges' the lead back for good, and he had a key steal off an inbounds pass from Bowdoin rookie guard Randy DeFeo just 1:20 later.

"He might not have scored as much today, but he did a great job defensively. He calmed us down when he got back on the floor; he gave us some senior leadership," Meehan told reporters after the Bowdoin victory.