Just one year before the 20th anniversary of its last Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Men's Basketball Championship, the sixth-seeded Judges upset top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors 65-50 last Sunday to bring the title back to Brandeis for the first time since 1992. Overcoming second-half deficits to Keene State College in the quarterfinals and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the semis, the men's basketball squad won its third ECAC title in school history.Rookie guard Ben Bartoldus '14 was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. Bartoldus finished the tournament with 34 total points in the three games, to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. He also shot 68.4 percent from the field, including five-of-eight from beyond the arc.

Coach Brian Meehan praised both Bartoldus and fellow rookie Youri Dascy '14 as the top performers in the tourney.

"I look at them as co-MVPs," Meehan said. "I think it's certainly something that should motivate those guys. They are both good players and with some more work, they can lead the team to some more wins and more success."

In the championship game against ECSU, the Warriors hit the first bucket of the game. However, it would be their only lead, as Brandeis responded with 10-straight points, to take a 10-2 lead. After a 10-3 comeback run by the Warriors brought them within one point with 9:29 left in the half, the Judges answered with a 9-2 run of their own to take a 22-14 lead with 6:07 remaining. The Judges defense would hold ECSU to just two baskets over the final 6 minutes and enter halftime with a 10-point lead. The Judges held the Warriors to just 38.1 percent shooting the first half.

The Judges came out of the locker room a little sluggish, allowing ECSU to score 6 of the half's first 9 points. However, the Judges regained their strength and went on a 6-2 run to reestablish an 11-point lead, and held at least a 9-point advantage for the rest of the game.

Guard Anthony Trapasso '12 led the Judges in the second half, scoring all 12 of his points in the half, shooting 80 percent from the field and 3-for-4 from downtown.

In semifinals action, the Judges faced the Mass. College of Liberal Arts on ECSU's home court. Facing a late second-half deficit for the second-consecutive time, the Judges rallied to defeat the Trailblazers 76-66.

Leading the Trailblazers 40-31 at halftime, the Judges seemed to be in control, holding their opponent to just 32.3-percent shooting in the first half. The Trailblazers came out in the second half with full-court pressure, and stifled the Judges early on. The Trailblazers rallied off 13 straight points, and outscored the Judges 21-5 through the 12:24 mark. Trailing 51-45, the Judges found their rhythm and went on an 11-4 run to reclaim the lead with 9:23 left in the game. With the game tied at 63 apiece with just 4:32 remaining, forward Christian Yemga '11 fired a pass to Bartoldus who drained a 3-pointer to put Brandeis up for good. The Judges would hold the Trailblazers to just 3 points down the stretch on 0-of-9 shooting from the field. The Judges sank 5 of their final 6 shots.

Dascy and Bartoldus led all scorers with 20 points apiece, and combined for an impressive 64-percent shooting from the field. Dascy added a game-high nine rebounds, and Bartoldus matched a career high by shooting 80 percent from 3-point land. Yemga and guard Tyrone Hughes '12 tied for a game-high five assists, and Hughes chipped in 6 points, five rebounds and four steals as well.

On Wednesday night, the Judges opened the tournament with a quarterfinals bout at third-seeded Keene State. The Judges blanked the Owls down the stretch, scoring the game's final 14 points and erasing a 7-point deficit in the process to win 84-77.

The Judges failed to find their stride in the first half, trailing the Owls 39-30 going into halftime. 4 minutes into the second half with his team trailing by 11 points, Meehan called a crucial 30-second timeout to regroup. Meehan reminded the guys to keep taking good shots and not let Keene State run away with it.

"We just needed to stay composed and take good shots," said Meehan. "When you have guys taking good shots and they don't go in, at least you're giving yourself a chance to win games. We gave ourselves a chance to win that day."

Meehan's advice appeared to re-energize the Judges, as they rallied off 14 straight points to erase the deficit and take a 50-47 lead thanks to a 3-pointer from forward Vytas Kriskus '12 with 12 minutes left in the game.

The Owls fought back to tie the game at 54 apiece 3 minutes later and subsequently took a 65-59 lead with 6:10 left. With just over 3 minutes remaining in the game and the Owls holding a 5-point lead, Bartoldus was called for his fifth foul, and Meehan, clearly unhappy with the call, earned himself a technical, awarding the Owls a total of four free throws. The Owls would make just two of the four, with a miss coming from Division III free throw percentage leader Ryan Martin, only his fourth miss in 103 attempts.

Over the next 59 seconds, Kriskus made his presence known, singlehandedly bringing the Judges back. Kriskus hit a 3-pointer, a trifecta of free throws and a layup, running off 8 straight points to permanently regain the lead for the Judges. Brandeis would add 6 more points to win 84-77.

"We took good shots, and when you have good shooters like Vytas [Kriskus] taking them, there is a chance things work out in the end," said Meehan.

The Judges shot an astounding 81 percent from the field in the second half, missing just 4 of their 21 shots. The Judges led the Owls in bench points, rebounds and held an impressive 40-18 advantage in points in the paint. Kriskus shot 6-of-8 from the field, going 4-for-6 from downtown and seven-of-seven from the foul line. Dascy added 24 points, and Hughes contributed 13 points and 5 steals.

"It's a good feeling," said Meehan. "It is basically a consolation tournament, and the only worthwhile thing is trying to deal with some of the problems you had in the regular season. We didn't do a good job winning on the road, but by playing on the road three more times gives us some good momentum for next year.