With the men's basketball team leading the University of Chicago 27-12 at halftime in last Sunday's home game, forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) said, that during the intermission, the team emphasized the need to "come out strong" in the first five minutes of the second half. "We didn't want to let [Chicago] back into the game," DeLuca said. "If we can contain them, then we pretty much got them."

Brandeis built the lead to 19 points after five minutes of play in the second half, and with 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Judges held a 46-17 advantage with the help of three three-pointers from guard Kevin Olson '09. They eventually coasted to a 67-36 conference win.

The win came on the heels of an 80-75 loss last Friday at home to No. 2 Washington University in St. Louis. Brandeis now stands at 12-6 on the season and 5-2 in conference play, alone in second place trailing only WashU in the University Athletic Association standings after the University of Rochester and Carnegie Mellon University both lost last Sunday.

"It was good that we bounced back after a tough loss [to WashU]. We needed this," Olson said of the win over Chicago.

Brandeis had built an early 13-4 lead midway through the first half, as the Maroons managed only one field goal during this stretch.

Chicago cut the lead to 13-10 with 6 minutes, 31 seconds left before halftime, but Brandeis finished out the half with a 14-2 run capped by two three-pointers from DeLuca.

"We just established ourselves offensively and defensively [during the 14-2 run]," guard Andre Roberson '10 said. "Our shots started to fall for us and on defense we got out there and we really attacked them."

After Brandeis had built a 46-17 lead with 12 minutes to go, the coaching staff began to rest the starters. Rookie forward Vytas Kriskus '12 led the team with 15 points in 18 minutes of play, including a one-handed dunk in the final minute that put an exclamation point on the Judges' second 30-point conference victory of the season, with the first coming against New York University Jan. 17.

"[Kriskus' dunk] was a mini one. I've seen better in practice; that was just a sample," assistant coach Eric McKoy joked.

In addition to Kriskus' 15 points, DeLuca and Olson scored 14 and 11, respectively.

Forward Rich Magee '10 was in the starting lineup against Chicago, filling in for forward Christian Yemga '11, who was limited to nine minutes off the bench after injuring his ankle against WashU, according to McKoy. Magee made the most of the opportunity with six points and 10 rebounds.

"He did a great job rebounding the ball; he did a great job on the offensive board of following shots," McKoy said. "He made some great moves today."

Chicago, which is just 2-16 this season after being picked to finish in second place in the UAA in the preseason poll, shot just 27.3 percent from the field, including 3-for-18 in the first half. The Maroons also had 19 turnovers, which lead to 22 Brandeis points.

"I think our zone [defense] really frustrated them," DeLuca said. "They weren't really hitting shots either, so we were just trying to limit their second-chance shots."

Against WashU, both teams shot over 50 percent from the field, but Brandeis still fell behind by double digits at four different points throughout the game. The Judges battled back each time to make it a one- or two-possession game, but they were never able to complete the comeback effort.

Trailing 74-70, forward Terrell Hollins '10 hit one of two free-throw shots to cut the lead to three with 47 seconds left. Roberson then tried to draw an offensive charging foul against WashU senior guard Sean Wallis on the ensuing possession but was himself called for a defensive blocking foul that gave Wallis a chance to add to the lead from the free-throw line.

Wallis hit both free-throws, and DeLuca missed a three-pointer on the other end of the court. WashU hit its free-throws down the stretch to hold on for the 80-75 win.

Guard Kenny Small '10, Roberson, Hollins and DeLuca all had double-digit point totals. Small led the Judges with 17 points, Roberson had 16, Hollins tallied 14, and DeLuca added 13. WashU, however, had five players score in double figures, led by sophomore guard Aaron Thompson, who scored 18 points.

"We learned a lot from [the WashU] game, especially defensively," Olson said. "They ran everything they wanted to, and we don't feel like we played that great of a game, and we lost by five points, so in that mindset, we know we can fix things and give them a good run."

The game was delayed for nearly half an hour late in the second half when a fan injured his knee break-dancing on the floor during a timeout. He was treated and taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Brandeis returns to action on the road this weekend against the same two teams. The Judges will play at Chicago Friday at 9 p.m. and at WashU Sunday at 1 p.m.