The Justice

Fans agonize over a low moment in the Judges' 71-69 loss to Washington University in St. Louis last Sunday. David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

Amid the backdrop of celebration by fourth-ranked Washington University in St. Louis' players, the men's basketball team, heads sunk to the floor, left the court knowing they had surrendered a sizable second-half lead for the second straight contest.

Now, after losing their last three University Athletic Association games by a combined 10 points, the Judges have falled from No. 2 to No. 9 in the latest D3hoops.com rankings.

Led by senior center Troy Ruths, the Bears overcame a seven-point deficit in the last minute and a half to stun the No. 2 Judges 71-69 last Sunday, two days after unranked University of Chicago also overcame a seven-point deficit in the last 9 minutes, 42 seconds to win 79-77. The Judges fell to 12-4 on the season and 2-3 in University Athletic Association play.

Following last Sunday's loss, coach Brian Meehan said star forward Steve DeLuca '08 will miss the rest of the season with back and hamstring ailments (see story, page 16).

"It takes a little bit of a hit [on our confidence]," guard Joe Coppens '08 said. "Two teams come in at home and you're excited to finally get a couple of home games after a month and a half of road games and it really stinks to drop two."

The Judges started its conference schedule with victories over New York University Jan. 12 and Carnegie Mellon University Jan. 18.

Two free throws from point guard Kwame-Graves Fulgham '08 capped a 10-2 run that gave the Judges a 69-62 lead over WashU with just 1:39 remaining last Sunday, but WashU was able to close out the game with a 9-0 run, as Ruths scored the final eight points.

"We didn't finish the game out the right way. We made bad decisions," coach Brian Meehan said. "[We kept] fouling them, giving up three-point plays instead of two. We've got the lead, [on] possessions alone they're going to have to foul us. We did everything wrong in the last minute and 30 seconds."

After junior forward Tyler Nading hit his first free-throw attempt to cut the Judges lead to 69-63, he missed his second. On the rebound, the ball bounced off a Brandeis player and went out of bounds, allowing WashU to retain possession. Six seconds later, sophomore guard Ross Kelley found Ruths underneath the basket, bringing the Bears to within four points.

Continued...

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