They've run with guard-oriented squads so quick they make a whippet look slow.

They've matched muscle beneath the boards with sharp-elbowed types who understand anatomy, and thus can discourage if not outright deflate an opponent with a well-placed elbow or two.

In short, Franklin & Marshall's men's basketball team has seen it all thus far in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

That they've adapted successfully to each style, no matter how varied, is evident by the fact that the Diplomats are still dancin' in the Big Dance.

Tonight at 7 in Salem, Va., the site of the Final Four, F&M (26-5) faces another new challenge, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (29-2), for the right to advance to Saturday's 3 p.m. title game opposite either defending champion Washington University-St. Louis (27-2) or Guilford (25-5).

"They're guard-oriented," Diplomat forward James McNally said of Stockton. "They like to press. They like a fast-paced game. We like to do some fast-paced (play), but we like to grind it out in our offensive sets, too.

"It's funny. In this tournament we've either played an all-guard team or a real big team. It's pretty interesting the way the tournament has gone, guards on Friday and big men on Saturday."

So it will go again this weekend. F&M will face a four-guard offense when it matches up with streamlined Stockton tonight. Saturday, be it in the title game or 12:30 p.m. consolation, the Diplomats will face a bigger, more physical squad than the Ospreys in either Washington-St. Louis or Guilford.

For now, however, the focus is on Stockton.

"They're small and quick, they're athletic and they can jump," forward Mike Baker said. "They're going to have their advantages. But we're going to have our advantages — in the post."

F&M's bigs — the 6-foot-7 Baker, 6-6 McNally and 6-7 Dan Selig — have all dominated at one point or another during this postseason. McNally, a Centennial Conference First Team All-Star, has scored in double figures in each of the four tournament games to date and in 28 of the Diplomats' 31 outings this season.

Together, F&M's Big Three are combining to average 34 points and 20 rebounds per game.

One reason the Diplomats have adapted so well to the various styles of their opponents is their own versatility.

"Certainly, this run we've had has given us way more experience than what we had in December or January," Diplomat coach Glenn Robinson said. "We've played some really talented teams that do things a little differently than anyone we've played all year.

"Hopefully, we're presenting a similar challenge to them and we're doing things a little differently or a little better than the people they've been used to playing."

F&M's frontcourt has been at the forefront of its run to the Final Four, but the contributions of the backcourt can't be overlooked.

Guard Georgio Milligan, the first freshman in conference history to be named first team all-star, poured in a career-high 21 points in the sectional championship win over DeSales.

Anthony Brooks had 17 points, 5 boards and 5 assists in the tournament opener against Wesley. Swingman Clay Scovill produced a team-high 15 points and added 9 rebounds in a Sweet 16 win over Salem State.

Scovill rolled his right ankle in the first half of the Elite Eight game against DeSales and had it encased in a protective boot while sitting out Tuesday's practice.

"I'll be ready to play (tonight)," he said.

The Manheim Township graduate has been one of the keys to a balanced attack that has been a big reason for F&M's surprising success this season.

"I think that's the best part of our team," McNally said. "Everybody's a threat on offense and everybody plays real hard on defense. That makes it real hard for a team to stop five guys. If they're going to focus on one guy, another guy is going to step up.

"That's pretty much what's been happening and that's why this has been so fun."

Offensive and defensive balance has driven Diplomat teams of the past to the national stage. This trip marks F&M's fifth Final Four, and each has had its own distinctive feel.

None, however, has been as unexpected as this one, considering the Diplomats hadn't posted a winning record in three years and were picked to finish fifth in the Centennial in a preseason poll of conference coaches.

"This year we're the underdog and we deserve to be," Robinson said. "But we're getting better. We're going to go down there not to just be happy and lay down. We're going to go down there, play our best game and see what happens.

"It's what everybody dreams of from the time you're a little kid. When you play a sport, you dream of playing for a championship.

"And here we are. We're living that dream."

 E-mail: egruver@lnpnews.com