The Brandeis men's basketball team continues to surge up the University Athletic Association standings, making its 2-5 start a distant memory.

With their two wins this weekend at home, the Judges move to third place in the conference.

While the Judges had to fight off the Carnegie Mellon Tartans last Sunday, barely avoiding a monumental collapse, they held on for a 80-67 win.

Last Friday, Brandeis notched its second consecutive overtime win, besting Case Western Reserve 78-74. The Judges move to 11-7 overall and 5-2 in the UAA.

Brandeis played a very strong first half in Sunday's game, jumping out to a 21-9 lead just eight minutes into the game.

After the Tartans cut the lead to 28-19, Brandeis went on an 18-2 run, entering the second half with a 25 point lead.

After just six turnovers in the first half, the next half proved to be a different story for Brandeis. Carnegie began to press Brandeis full-court, and the Judges were unable to break the press.

This led to 12 Brandeis turnovers and easy layups for Carnegie, allowing the visiting Tartans to jump right back into the game, cutting the lead down to nine.

However, Brandeis would escape with its third straight conference victory.

Point guard Tyrone Hughes '12 indicated the team needed to be more disciplined on defense and avoid those costly miscues.

"We just can't catch the ball in the corner and allow ourselves to be trapped," said Hughes.

"We have to discipline ourselves to catch the ball, [with the] free throw line extended, to avoid the trap and we'll be just fine."

Brandeis had five players score in double figures for the second game in a row.

Forward Vytas Kriskus '12 led the team with 17 points, while Hughes scored 13 and dished out six assists. Guard Derek Retos '14 had 12 points on 4-5 from three-point range, while center Youri Dascy '14 had 11 points and six rebounds.

Guard Jay Freeman '13 contributed 11 points, four assists and four steals off the bench.

Hughes, however, was displeased with the team's lack of focus in the second half on both sides of the court, which caused a near-collapse against Carnegie.

"We were up so big that as a team, we just took our foot off the gas pedal and just tried to coast our way through the game," Hughes said.

"We didn't bring the same energy and intensity that we had in the first half, and in this league, anything is possible. We better do a better job of putting teams away."

Last Friday, Brandeis pulled off its second straight overtime win, this time against Case.

The Spartans used an 11-rebound edge to keep in the game against Brandeis, but ultimately lost to the Judges' superior depth and balanced scoring attack.

The first 33 minutes of the game were close, with no lead above five points for either team.

With seven minutes left, there had already been four ties and 14 lead changes in the game.

Brandeis trailed 51-50, but guard Ben Bartoldus '14 drained a three-pointer, which started a 12-2 run and ended with a 63-52 lead for Brandeis with three minutes, 43 seconds left.

The offensive production suddenly disappeared, as Case held the Judges to just one field goal in that span and surged on their own 12-2 run. Case senior guard Tom Summers scored eight of the 12 points in that span, also nabbing three key rebounds in just 90 seconds. After two free throws and a layup, Case was down 64-62 with just 45 seconds remaining in the game.

Hughes was whistled for a reach-in foul with 11.6 seconds remaining and Case junior guard Robert Scott capitalized, knocking down both free throws to tie the game at 64 apiece.

Brandeis had a chance to clinch the game in regulation, but Hughes missed a jump shot with a few seconds left. Bartoldus tried to follow, but his miss forced the game into overtime.

With 3:23 remaining in the overtime period, Case led 66-65. Retos hit a jumper, and from that point, Brandeis led the rest of the way. The Judges would eventually proceed to take the game by a 78-74 margin.

Brandeis' balanced attack led the way, as five players shared the offensive success.

Bartoldus led the team with 14 points and three steals, scoring all his points in the second half. Retos scored 13 but shot just 1-7 from downtown.

Dascy scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Forward Alex Stoyle '14 tied a career-high by scoring 12 points off the bench. Hughes scored six points and dished out seven assists, while Kriskus also scored 11, again all in the second half.

Brandeis will continue their UAA schedule on the road against the Case Western Reserve University Spartans this Friday. The Judges will then travel to Pittsburgh to square off against Carnegie Mellon this upcoming Sunday.