The men's basketball team was able to shoot 51.7 percent from the field against the University of Rochester last Friday night at home, but found itself on the short end of a 73-69 decision in the team's University Athletic Association opener after allowing Rochester to hold a 16-to-1 edge in converted free throws, But against No. 14 Carnegie Mellon University last Sunday, the Judges reversed that trend. Brandeis held a 19-to-11 edge in converted free throws and held the Tartans to just 37.9 percent shooting from the field en route to a 69-57 victory last Sunday at home.

"Defensively it seemed like we were all collectively working together, kind of limiting their shooters and [making] their other guys beat us," forward Terrell Hollins '10 said of the team's victory over Carnegie Mellon.

With the loss to Rochester and the subsequent win over CMU, Brandeis stands at 7-5 on the season, including 1-1 in UAA play. Over winter break, the Judges upended Curry College 84-50 behind 24 points from guard Kevin Olson '09.

Carnegie Mellon had been one of the UAA's surprise teams during the non-conference season. The Tartans were picked to finish fourth in the UAA coaches' preseason poll, but raced through the non-conference season with just one loss in 11 games.

The Judges, who began the season ranked No. 9 in the country, held an 8-5 lead with 10 minutes and 26 seconds left in the first half of last Sunday's game after a layup from forward Rich Magee '10. From that point, forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) took over the game, scoring 15 of the team's final 21 points to close out the half, giving Brandeis a 29-19 halftime lead.

"[DeLuca] was on fire today. He could hit any shot he wanted," assistant coach Eric McKoy said. "He took what the defense gave him and he didn't try to force anything."

In the second half, Olson found his jump shot and hit three three-pointers down the stretch to help the Judges increase their lead to as many as 16 points.

"I was really just trying to stay within our offense; we were really trying to pound it in. . [I was] just waiting for my open looks." Olson said.

Trailing by double digits for much of the second half, Carnegie Mellon cut the lead to nine on a lay-up from Tartan senior guard Corey O'Rourke with 3:11 left in the game. O'Rourke forced a steal on the ensuing Brandeis possession and passed the ball to junior guard Jack Anderson, who was open down the court. But Anderson could not secure the pass and kicked the ball in frustration toward the protective net past the baseline at the Carnegie Mellon end of the court, committing a technical foul in the process.

Brandeis hit its free throw attempts in the waning minutes to hold on for the 12-point win.

"[Last Sunday] we were just a little more aggressive getting the ball into the low post," McKoy said. "We were a little more patient in what we did; we didn't take the first shot attempt that we got. We moved the ball around."

DeLuca led the way with 28 points and 10 rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting, while guard Kenny Small '10 and Olson chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Against Rochester, the Judges trailed 35-29 at the half, but went on a 9-2 run, capped by a Hollins layup to gain a 38-37 lead with 16:50 left in the game.

However, Rochester answered with a 9-0 run of its own, and Brandeis would never recover.

Small, DeLuca, and guard Andre Roberson '10 all scored in double figures with 15, 12, and 11 points respectively.

The Judges next play New York University at home Saturday at 3 p.m.