With 12 minutes, 47 seconds left in its home game against Emerson College last Saturday, the men's basketball team led 47-31, but at 9:16, Emerson had cut the lead to just 5 and called a timeout to keep its momentum going. However, the break benefited the Judges; they scored 7 points in the next 45 seconds, sparking a 12-0 run that included a thunderous dunk from forward Terrell Hollins '10. "All we needed to do was refocus [and] come out [and] get the ball inside. We'd been playing the soft press all game, and then we kicked in the press. The guys responded really well," said Coach Brian Meehan.

The Judges defeated Emerson 69-52 to go 2-0 after winning their season opener against Lasell College 90-79 last Tuesday.

Against Emerson, Hollins led the team by recording his 10th career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also added three assists and four steals.

Guard Andre Roberson '10 led the team with 15 points, while guard Kenny Small '10 contributed 14 points of his own.

The Judges trailed early on as Emerson jumped to an 11-6 lead in the first half with 14:09 left in the half. But the Judges responded with a 14-3 run and went into the half up 30-19.

With the score 47-42, the Judges' 12-0 run was largely due to Hollins' awareness and well-rounded abilities. He started the run with a midrange jumper to put the team up 7 and then stole the inbound pass and dunked the ball to increase the lead to 9 points.

On the next possession, Hollins stole the ball again, this time at midcourt, and fed it to guard Tyrone Hughes '12, who connected on a 3-pointer.

Hollins also scored the next two baskets, which put Brandeis in a commanding lead that lasted for the rest of the game.

Meehan said his team will rely on runs like it had against Emerson throughout the season.

"I think the team will spurt like this all year. At times it'll look a bit sluggish, but I think our games will look a lot like that [this game]", Meehan said.

Preseason All-American senior guard Jeremy Shannon led Emerson's effort in the game but was slowed in the second half. He scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the game but had 9 points and eight rebounds in the first half.

"We did a great job of limiting [Shannon]. He's [the] guy who runs the offense, and we did a great job of limiting his effectiveness," Meehan said. "We did a great job of not letting him get the ball in the middle of the floor to [senior center/forward] Bryan Rouse, who likes the ball there."

The defensive effort resulted in Rouse scoring only 8 points while dishing three assists in the loss.

The Judges had a strong defensive showing against Emerson, forcing 22 turnovers. Brandeis scored 28 points off of turnovers, compared to just three from Emerson.

"That's a key because we're a good shooting team, and the better we take care of the ball, the more shots we get off," Meehan said. "I think we're going to force a lot of turnovers this year, and keep other teams from getting a lot of shots off."

The team also played a relatively clean game, turning the ball over only six times and committing just nine fouls all game.

"We did a much better job of not reaching in. We committed silly fouls last game," Meehan said. "If we stay out of foul trouble like we did yesterday, we can rotate guys much better."

In the team's season opener last Tuesday, forward/guard Vytas Kriskus '12 scored 23 points in the win. Kriskus connected on five of 11 shots from three-point range, and went seven-for-16 overall.

The Judges will conclude their first-semester schedule with five road games and one home game between now and Dec. 6.

After the team's next game tonight, the squad will play its final five games of the semester between Nov. 29 and Dec. 6. Tonight's game at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth is at 7 p.m.