Even after a blowout loss to a 13-1 Emory University team just a week ago, the men's basketball season seems to have taken a permanent turn for the better. After rebounding from a 2-5 start to the season with a six-game winning streak, including two University Athletic Association victories, the Judges found themselves at 6-5.

Judges fans had reason to be worried, though. Facing the 12-3 Washington University in St. Louis Bears, Brandeis was blown out for the second game in a row, 80-54, last Friday night. However, the Judges team that earned that six-game winning streak last month came to play last Sunday. Fueled by forward Vytas Kriskus '12 and his 31 points, Brandeis overcame the University of Chicago Maroons 97-89 in overtime. The Judges ended their Midwest road trip with a 9-7 overall record, 3-2 in the UAA.

After yet another slow start, the Judges trailed 17-9 with 13 minutes, 42 seconds to play in the first half and Brandeis seemed doomed to follow the course of the previous two games. Fortunately, history did not repeat itself. Brandeis then went on a 12-0 run to take a 21-17 lead. The rest of the half proved to be a tight contest, with Brandeis' largest lead resting at six. Chicago senior guard Matt Johnson nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into halftime knotted at 42 points apiece.

The second half proved to be just as thrilling. With 10:03 remaining, Brandeis cut Chicago's lead to four, 59-55, on a Kriskus layup. However, fueled by another nine points from Johnson, Chicago went on a 13-4 run to take a 72-59 lead with just 5:29 to play.

But, the Judges would not concede the game so easily. Strong play from forward Alex Stoyle '14 and guard Jay Freeman '13 brought Brandeis right back into the game, trailing by just two points as the clock wound down in the second half. Guard Tyrone Hughes '12 would save the Judges and send the match into overtime, on a tip-in basket at the buzzer that tied the game at 80.

Stoyle explained Brandeis' resurgence in the second half stemmed not just from pressure to avoid the fate of the last two matches, but also key offensive adjustments.

"We started playing with more of a sense of urgency," he said. "We started getting some turnovers out of our press. Coach changed up our offense a little bit and we were able to slowly chip away at their lead."

Brandeis then dominated the overtime period, outscoring the Maroons 17-9, sealing the victory.

Kriskus highlighted the Judges' offense, amassing a notable 31 points and seven rebounds in 41 minutes. Hughes tallied a triple- double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Stoyle had 11 points, five rebounds and three key steals off the bench for the Judges.

Chicago guard Matt Johnson led all scorers with 44 points on 13-20 shooting, including eight for 14 from three-point land and 10-12 from the line.

"He's a great shooter who got hot and hit a lot of contested shots," said Stoyle of Johnson. "He had a great game, but we were able to limit a lot of their other players and fought hard until the end for the win."

On Friday night, the Judges fell in another blowout loss to WashU. Despite WashU shooting 60 percent from the field, the Judges found themselves down 41-31 at halftime.

"We battled in the first half, but in the second half, we lost a little bit of our focus," said Hughes.

The Bears continued their hot shooting in the second half, going 17-32 from the field and five-seven from downtown. However, Brandeis' downfall would be their cold shooting in the second half. The Judges shot just four-20 and were outscored 39-23 in the half, struggling offensively en route to the blowout loss.

"In the second half, the communication wasn't there," Hughes said. "Against their offense with all of those screens, we needed to communicate better. WashU is a really good team, and I don't take any credit away from them, but I believe we had too many self-inflicted wounds."

The Bears shot a season-best 56 percent from the field, including eight-15 from beyond the three-point arc.

Guard Ben Bartoldus '14 led the Judges with 15 points. Kriskus tallied an impressive stat line, scoring nine points, while also notching seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Hughes also contributed nine points in the loss.

Brandeis returns home to next face off against Case Western Reserve on Friday night in another UAA matchup. Carnegie Mellon will then travel to Red Auerbach Arena on Sunday to wrap up the weekend's action for the Judges.