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This is Zachary Aronow reporting live from the Mayser Center as we are 47 minutes away from tip off as the Brandeis Judges look to advance past host school Franklin & Marshall Diplomats.

With the women very likely making the Sweet Sixteen, the men will look to make their second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance and make history as the first year both the men and women’s basketball teams made it that far.

Franklin & Marshall stand in the way and they are a formidable team opponent tonight. Last night, F&M pulled away early against Wesley College, crushing them in a 93-69 rout.

Guiding the Diplomats is Division III’s all-time winningest coach, Glenn Robinson. With 755 wins over a 38 year career, Robinson’s teams are known for being a well-balanced unit. This year’s squad is no exception with five players averaging double digits in scoring. In their opening round win against Wesley, six players achieved double figures in scoring including all five starters.

Players to watch on Franklin & Marshall starts with James McNally. The leading scorer, averaging 16.2 points per game and a team leading 7.4 rebounds plays a solid game all around. Against Wesley, he lead all scorers with 18 points and pulled in 11 rebounds. Another player to watch is Anthony Brooks. A former DI athlete from University of Miami, the sophomore transfer finished the regular season averaging 10.5 points and 2.5 assists per game. However he is not to be overlooked after finishing with 17 points on 8-12 shooting last night. Georgio Milligan struggled last night but still finished with 11 points. He was second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game.

When looking over the team, two things stick out. Their disinterest in the three pointer — the Diplomats attempted only 6 three pointers last night and finished dead last in three pointers attempted in the regular season. The other thing that sticks out is their age — they are a very young squad. Their only senior is the first man off the bench, their starters feature one junior, three sophomores and one freshman.

With a young opponent that doesn’t like the three, the Judges best chance tonight involves first, making the long range shots. Kevin Olson ’09 struggled early on last night but made his last two three point attempts against Scranton. If he gets hot along with Kenny Small ’10 — dubbed the X-factor by Scranton’s coach last night and Steve DeLuca (GRAD), then they have a chance to pull away early. Momentum will be key, playing in a hostile environment. If the three doesn’t fall, then the Judges need to maintain discipline and work it inside like they did against Scranton last night.

Because I am doing play by play tonight live on WBRS, I will only be updating at the end of the half. You can follow along on either Brandeis or F&M’s athletic website or listen in live at wbrs.org.

Note of interest, DeLuca is 15 points away from surpassing Jim Houston ’56 as the fifth all time leading scorer in school history.

Here are the projected line ups for both sides. Order goes from guard to center.

Brandeis: #1  Andre Roberson ’10, #4 Kevin Olson ’09, #25 Kenny Small ’10, #2 Steve DeLuca (GRAD), #52 Rich Magee ’10

Franklin & Marshall:  #3 Anthony Brooks ’11, #4 Giorgio Milligan ’12, #5 Clay Scovill ’10, #44 James McNally ’11, #50 Mike Baker ’11

Without further ado, follow along with the action on wbrs.org or the men’s basketball page at brandeisjudges.edu

HALFTIME: Brandeis 27, Franklin & Marshall 37

Very little has gone right for the Judges in this game. After one half, Brandeis founds themselves outshot — 40.1% to the Diplomats 61.5%, outrebounded — Mike Baker of F&M has two more rebounds than the entire Judges squad (7-5) and in general just getting outplayed.

James McNally has been a beast for the Diplomats, turning the paint into his own personal domain with 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Clay Scovill follows with 8 points and Baker complements his seven rebounds with 7 points.

For Brandeis, Steve DeLuca leads with 8 points but has been ice cold after making two threes early in the game. Rich Magee and Kevin Olson each have 5. Olson by the way has only three shot attempts to his credit. Kenny Small has also gotten off to a rough start, shooting only 1-4 in the half.

With three minutes left to go until the second half, we will see whether the Judges can pull off the comeback in front of an energized hostile crowd or officially mark this game as the last for Olson and DeLuca. Stay tuned for further action!

1:21 BRANDEIS DOWN BY ONE 63-64!

SEASON OVER: last ditch shots no good, season ends 63-65.