The men's basketball team began the week by setting a school record for the best start to the season, defeating Bates College on Jan. 11 to move to 11-0. However, the squad cooled down later in the week, dropping two straight UAA matches on the road. The team is now 11-2 overall and 1-2 in conference play.Despite shooting 21 percent from 3-point range, the Judges were able to defeat Bates with shutdown defense, holding the Bobcats to their worst shooting performance of the season (34 percent) and out-rebounding Bates 36-29. The first half showcased four ties and three lead changes, going back and forth until Brandeis ended the half with a 7-2 run to get ahead 27-23.

The Judges continued their run in the second half, eventually leading 49-41 with 3 minutes, 39 seconds to play. Bates, however, fought back on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 51-50 with 28 seconds to go. Yet the Judges were able to hold on and won 53-50.

Forward Christian Yemga '11 led the Judges with 13 points, shooting 6-8 from the field, and Tyrone Hughes '12 added seven assists.

Coach Brian Meehan, though happy about setting the record, which was previously held by the 1956-1957 team, says the team is more focused on what lies ahead.

"It's not something we're concerned about. It's nice, but during the season, our goal is to get to 19 [or] 20 wins and get into the [NCAA]tourney," he said.

The Judges failed to build on the new record, as they saw their winning streak and undefeated season come to an end last Thursday in a 53-52 loss to Carnegie Mellon. The team lost its first close game of the season as it came into the game 4-0 in contests decided by a basket or less.

"We've won our fair show of close games, but it will even itself out," Meehan said. "We've had our share of good fortune. Now we have to start playing better, but we just have to get everyone on the same page," he added.

Brandeis was in control early in the first half and outshot Carnegie Mellon 48 percent to 35 percent from the field on the half. Guard Tyrone Hughes '12 and forward Vytas Kriskus '12 scored 8 points each to lead the Judges, combining for almost half of Brandeis' points in the first period. However, the Judges squandered an early 21-13 lead, allowing Carnegie Mellon to tie the game at 29-29 with 2:25 to go. Despite losing the early lead, the Judges led 34-31 at the half.

Brandeis opened the second half with a layup by center Youri Dascy '14 to move ahead 36-31 but was unable to hit another field goal for more than 12 minutes. The team missed 12 straight field goals.

"We didn't shoot well at all; we struggled and we struggled to get good shots," Meehan said. "You're not gonna shoot at a high percentage when you shoot bad shots, and we took a lot of bad shots where we were out of control."

Carnegie Mellon took advantage of the Judges' poor shooting to go on a 15-4 run, taking a 46-38 lead with 6:46 to go. Brandeis fought back, cutting the deficit to 4 with 3:08 to go. Yemga and Hughes then came up with steals on back-to-back Carnegie Mellon possessions, leading to 4 straight points for Brandeis and tying the game at 50 with 55 seconds to go. Carnegie Mellon broke Brandeis' full-court pressure on the next possession for an easy layup by senior Shane Rife.

On the next possession for Brandeis, Hughes was fouled, leading to two free throws, both of which he converted. However, 5 seconds later, Brandeis fouled freshman guard Christian Manoli. The freshman hit the first shot to give Carnegie Mellon a 53-52 lead but missed the second. Guard Ben Bartoldus '14 grabbed the rebound and called a time out. On the Judges' final possession, Bartoldus found a lane and drove to the basket but was swatted by Manoli as time expired.

Hughes scored a game-high 13 points for the Judges, while Ruben Kanya '14 added 11. Riley, Manoli and Rife each contributed 10 points for Carnegie Mellon.

"I thought over the weekend, we showed how young we are; we make silly mistakes, and lose focus easily," Meehan said. "We can't keep relying on putting ourselves in the hole and coming back. It's a formula for disaster."

Brandeis came into the game as the second-best 3-point shooting team in the country but was only 5-17 from beyond the arc against Carnegie Mellon.

"It's hard to get threes from the half court set, especially since teams now know that we can shoot well from beyond the arc. We have to get back to running and be a transition team, we have to defend and rebound," said Meehan. "We have guys who are good shooters. We just have to take better shots."

The Judges could not improve their shooting on Sunday and dropped their second straight game as they fell 66-63 to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The Judges trailed from the start, falling behind 24-10 with 5:19 left in the first half.

Brandeis committed 16 turnovers in the first half, and only shot 32 percent from the field. They trailed 31-22 at the break, despite 15 first half-points from Kanya.

The Judges did not go away quietly and went on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 45-43 with 7:35 to go in the second half. The Judges kept the game close the rest of the way and got within one point with 55 seconds to go after Kanya hit two foul shots.

But Case freshman guard Tim Chung managed to get to the line on two straight possessions, hitting four straight foul shots as Case went up 63-58 with 19 seconds to go. Kanya responded with a quick 3-pointer, but it proved to be too little, too late, as Case Western held on to win the game 66-63.

Kanya led all scorers with 20 points and added eight rebounds, while Kriskus scored 11. The Judges continued their poor shooting performance, as they were just 32 percent from the field, and 28 percent from 3-point range.

"Dropping two wins that would have been good wins on the road is disappointing; we got to move and look to our next game," Meehan said. "Losing two on the road that were winnable hurts. Overall, it's two games, we try to play 25 as though they are equally important."

The Judges are next in action on Friday at home against the University of Chicago before hosting Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday.