The men's basketball team has lived this story countless times during the season: Trailing late in the game, Brandeis manages to nail the clutch basket to force overtime and eventually pull away with the win. Once again, the Judges trailed by one possession, this time at Emory University last Sunday. The Judges were down by three points with less than one minute remaining and had possession of the ball. Forward Vytas Kriskus '12 nailed a three-pointer with just 35 seconds left, tying the match at 62. The game unfolded according to plan.

Unfortunately for the Judges, fate decided to take a different route last Sunday. Emory sophomore forward Jake Davis drained a three-pointer to put the Eagles up by three points with just three seconds left in the game. After a timeout, the men failed to get a shot off, and Emory walked away with a thrilling 65-62 victory. Brandeis stands at 12-10 and 6-5 in the University Athletic Association with the loss.

Guard Jay Freeman '13 stated that the team provided a great effort in the second half, but ultimately, it was too late to change the course of the game.

"We came together after the first half," he said. "We had a much better team defense, our guys found their way, and I simply could not ask more from our teammates. It just did not work out the way we wanted it to."

The Judges struggled to keep up with Emory's fast-paced offense at the outset of the game, costing them dearly. The men shot at a 41-percent clip and committed 15 turnovers just in the first half. Emory led by as many as 13 points and eventually held a 33-22 lead at the end of the half.

In the second half, the Judges stormed right back as they have all season. Brandeis drew to within one point at 43-42 with just over 11 minutes remaining. However, Emory responded with a scoring spree of its own, reeling off a 7-0 run to push their lead back to eight points.

At the end a 9-0 Judges run, the men would hold their first lead of the game at 51-50. With just over four minutes left, Emory led once again by a 58-55 margin and would not look back.

Center Youri Dascy '14 led the Judges with 15 points and posted seven rebounds. Kriskus and Bartoldus each scored 13 points. Kriskus also grabbed 10 rebounds to notch a double-double. He is now just 21 points shy from becoming the 30th Brandeis player to post 1,000 career points.

Freeman scored nine points in his first start of the season. Guard Tyrone Hughes '12 tallied two points, six assists and six turnovers, while playing 40 minutes for the sixth time this season.

Last Friday, the men suffered a crushing 76-61 defeat at the hands of the University of Rochester YellowJackets. The Judges burst out of the gates, a rarity this season, opening up a 14-8 lead just 6:23 into the game. However, the host YellowJackets responded with a 16-3 run over the next five minutes, taking a 24-17 lead. Rochester relied on 18 points from junior John DiBartolomeo to take a 37-29 lead into halftime.

The YellowJackets scored the first five points of the second half and opened up a comfortable 42-29 lead. With 7:11 left and trailing 62-51, the men would not surrender. The Judges reeled off six straight points, capped by a jumper from Alex Stoyle '14 that cut the lead to just five. However, DiBortolomeo came through in the clutch once more, drawing a foul and proceeding to knock down both free throws. The YellowJackets then coasted down the stretch for the win.

The story revolved around Rochester's junior guard. DiBortolomeo finished the game with 9-11 shooting, including 4-4 from downtown and 5-5 from the free throw line. He also tallied six rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes of action.

Kriskus led the Judges with 21 points on just 7-18 shooting, 1-6 being from beyond the arc. He led all players with eight rebounds. Freeman scored 12 points off the bench, while Dascy scored 11 points on 5-7 shooting. The Judges only turned the ball over nine times, but shot just 43.4 percent en route to the loss.

While last weekend may have been a setback for the team, Freeman believes the team can still rebound and prepare for success.

"We are bringing it every day," said Freeman. "We are ready and prepared, but we have to simply be more consistent, have more rhythm, and play to the abilities that we know we have."

The Judges take on conference leader Washington University this Friday at 8 p.m.