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In its first five University Athletic Association contests this season, the No. 19 men's basketball team had shot 51 percent from the field in second-half action, outscoring its opponents by an average of nine points over the final 20 minutes of play. 
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The Judges were unable to replicate that magic this past weekend, fading down the stretch during closely-fought contests with No. 2 University of Rochester and Emory University. Brandeis' record now stands at 14-4 overall, including 5-2 in UAA play.
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"Fatigue played a factor-we had back-to-back weekends on the road," assistant coach Joe Coppens '08 said. "We faced two really good opponents. Emory's pace is very tough to beat or even stay in the game with them. Rochester was another really tough environment."
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Against Rochester last Sunday, the Judges held a lead late against one of the top teams in the country, but ultimately fell 69-65.
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Brandeis started the match off on a high note, especially after a three-pointer by forward Anthony Trapasso '13 that gave the Judges a 14-11 lead with 11 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first half. They retained the lead for nearly 30 minutes, stretching the advantage to seven points on several occasions.
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However, cheap fouls were Brandeis' undoing down the stretch, as the Judges were whistled for several questionable calls. Rochester senior guard John DiBartolomeo took 12 free throws in the final 3:22 of the game, hitting all of them. Rochester sophomore guard Kevin Sheehy drilled a three-pointer with 1:55 left in the contest, and the YellowJackets led for the rest of the game.
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"DiBartolomeo has earned those calls just by his body of work," Coppens said. "He really ratcheted it up and put the pressure on us towards the end. Most of [the foul calls] were warranted. To his credit, he knocked down all of his free throws."
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In total, Rochester went 29-for-31 from the charity stripe. The Judges outrebounded the YellowJackets 31-27 and had a field goal percentage that was nearly 10-percent higher, but were just 11-14 at the line.
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The Judges were paced by guards Ben Bartoldus '14 and Gabriel Moton '14, each of whom scored 21 points. Center Youri Dascy '14 added 14 points and tied Moton for the game-high in rebounds with seven. That was nearly all of Brandeis' offense, however, as only five players put points on the board. Only seven players even registered a field goal attempt.
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"We need to move the ball a bit better," Coppens said. "We have to get easier shots in transition-get guys running and get in the flow of the game. It is hard for guys like [guard] Derek [Retos] '14 and [forward Alex Stoyle '14] if they don't get going early. We need to get them touches early on."
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Rochester finished the weekend with an 18-0 record, including 7-0 in the UAA. The YellowJackets, who were No. 2 in the D3Hoops.com rankings last week, moved up to the top spot in Division III, due to the University of St. Thomas losing to Concordia College last Monday night.
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Against Emory, Brandeis was unable to replicate the second-half comebacks that had seen them pick up key road victories against the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis the weekend before. 
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The Judges had trailed Chicago by 10 and WashU by four at the break in those contests, and found themselves down 29-26 to Emory at the midway point. Despite knotting things up at 40 apiece with just over 13 minutes left, Meehan's team was unable to get over the hump, falling 69-55.
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"We weren't really into the game," guard Jay Freeman '13 said. "We lost focus too easily. We had a good first half, but the second half we weren't focused."
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Moton led Brandeis with 14 points, but he was the team's only player in double figures. Emory junior forward Jake Davis had a game-high 18 points, one of three Eagles with more than 10 points. Emory was paced down the stretch by freshman guard Michael Florin and senior guard Alex Greven, who combined for 17 points over the final 13 minutes of action.
Brandeis will get a second crack at both Rochester and Emory, as the Yellow Jackets and Eagles will travel to Waltham this weekend.
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"Our execution has to be better, and I think it will be," Coppens said. "Coming home Friday our effort will be better, and hopefully the score will indicate that."
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"Against Rochester, being at home could be all the difference," Stoyle added. "Hopefully we can get a little more production out of a few more guys."
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The game against Emory will be Friday at 8 p.m. The Judges will face Rochester Sunday at noon.