…but first, here are this week’s stories.
- INJURY: DeLuca ruled out of action, by Jeffrey Pickette. Obviously, this is really bad news for the Judges, who now have to face top-ranked Amherst College without their star player.
- MBBALL: Team rallied again in second half to nip Framingham State, by Jeffrey Pickette.
- WBBALL: Judges stop the bleeding with two victories this week, by Julie Ganz.
- WBBALL NOTEBOOK: Teammates are making up for slumping Capra, by Julie Ganz. The good news for the Judges is that the slumping Jaime Capra broke out for 24 points on 10-18 shooting in yesterday’s 59-46 win over Wheaton College, which moved the Judges to 6-2 following Tuesday’s win over WPI.
- FENCING: Men’s squad excels against Ivy League opponents, by Melissa Siegel.
- INDOOR TRACK: Judges start winter season with strong finishes, by Mike Prada.
- SWIMMING: Men’s team is third, women’s is sixth at MIT, by Ian Cutler.
- ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Jessica Chapin ‘10, by Mike Prada.
Now, let’s get caught up on the big game. As we all probably know, the men’s basketball team surged to the No. 3 spot in the D3hoops.com Top 25, behind only Amherst and the University of Rochester. It’s the highest the Judges have ever been in the poll, and it happened on the very week in which they play the No. 1 Lord Jeffs.
Both teams have struggled in the games leading up to tomorrow’s tilt. The Judges breezed by Clark University 82-71 Tuesday, but dropped their first game of the season yesterday, falling 71-64 in overtime to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. It’s not an awful loss, as Umass-Dartmouth is 6-0 on the season, but it was still disappointing. The Judges shot 43.8 percent compared to just 36.8 percent for Umass-Dartmouth, but Brandeis had just one three-pointer, while Umass-Dartmouth had 11.
Brandeis trailed most of the game, but point guard Kwame Graves-Fulgham ‘08 tied the game at 58 with a layup with 23 seconds remaining. The game went into overtime, and with Umass-Dartmouth clinging to a three-point lead with just under a minute left, forward Stephen Hill ‘08 missed two layups, and Umass-Dartmouth converted enough free throws to get the win.
Amherst also struggled Thursday, as they trailed by eight points before finally putting away the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 66-60. Star senior point guard Andrew Olson, the Most Valuable Player at last year’s NCAA Final Four, is struggling with an ankle injury, according to D3hoops.com’s Around the Nation, but did play yesterday, so he should play tomorrow.
If you ask me, the key to tomorrow’s game will be which team can exploit the other’s weakness. With Graves-Fulgham and reserve guard Andre Roberson ‘10, the Judges should be able to attack the hobbled Olson effectively, but the Lord Jeffs have several key inside players that should cause Brandeis fits inside, especially without DeLuca. The Judges will also need to shoot the three better if they are to win tomorrow.
Either way, it’s a huge event for the program, and we’ll be there tomorrow covering it all. Stay tuned.
