November 21, 2009

Diplomats Rally to Win Tip-Off Championship

LANCASTER, Pa. -- They trailed by 10 at the break. They were down by as much as 11 in the second half, but Franklin & Marshall never backed down. Sparked by Georgio Milligan's game-high 20 points, the Diplomats rallied to beat Gwynedd-Mercy 81-70 in the 30th Rotary Club Tip-Off Tournament championship game Saturday at the Mayser Center.

Milligan was named the tournament's MVP and F&M won its annual tip-off tournament for the 23rd time.

After being held to only four points in the first half, Milligan exploded for 16 in the second. His six points in the Diplomats' go-ahead, 15-9, scoring run in the second half ignited F&M's comeback.

Milligan ended the night going 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line. He had a game-high eight assists and added three blocks and two steals.

Three Diplomats had double-digits in scoring led by James McNally's double-double. McNally scored 13 points and pulled down 10 boards. Brandon Beckford added 15 points off the bench, going 4-for-7 from the floor and was perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Anthony Brooks chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Mike Baker netted eight points, none bigger than his layup with 5:48 left in the game that put F&M up for good.

McNally and Brooks paced F&M in the first half with nine points each. Brooks' trey 27 seconds into the game gave the Diplomats their only lead until 5:48 left in the game.

Matt Johnson and Jon Hogga led the Griffins with 20 and 19 points respectively. Hogga pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Franklin & Marshall returns to court on Tuesday, November 24^th when the Diplomats travel to Lebanon Valley.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 81, GWYNEDD-MERCY 70

GWYNEDD-MERCY (1-2)
Johnson, Matt 7-18 4-5 20; Hogga, Jon 7-17 2-2 19; Champion, Frank 5-10 0-0 10; Berzins, Doug 4-10 0-0 8; Brown, Dave 2-5 3-4 7; Stanton, Brendan 1-4
1-3 4; Crabtree, Jon 1-9 0-0 2; Sharp, Brandon 0-0 0-0 0; Payne, Mike 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-74 10-14 70.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (2-0)
Georgio Milligan 8-15 4-4 20; Brandon Beckford 4-7 4-4 15; Anthony Brooks 5-10 2-2 15; James McNally 4-14 5-9 13; Mike Baker 4-10 0-0 8; Steve
Tolliver 2-5 1-1 6; Kevin Henry 2-4 0-2 4; Sal Salvati 0-1 0-0 0; Justin Driver 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-67 16-22 81.

Gwynedd-Mercy................. 43 27 - 70
Franklin & Marshall........... 33 48 - 81

3-point goals--Gwynedd-Mercy 6-25 (Hogga, Jon 3-7; Johnson, Matt 2-5; Stanton, Brendan 1-4; Crabtree, Jon 0-6; Berzins, Doug 0-3), Franklin &
Marshall 7-18 (Anthony Brooks 3-7; Brandon Beckford 3-5; Steve Tolliver 1-3; Sal Salvati 0-1; Georgio Milligan 0-2). Fouled out--Gwynedd-Mercy-Payne,
Mike, Franklin & Marshall-None.

Rebounds--Gwynedd-Mercy 50 (Hogga, Jon 12), Franklin & Marshall 39 (James McNally 10).

Assists--Gwynedd-Mercy 10 (Berzins, Doug 4; Johnson, Matt 4), Franklin & Marshall 19 (Georgio Milligan 8).

Total fouls--Gwynedd-Mercy 19, Franklin & Marshall 13.

Technical fouls--Gwynedd-Mercy-None, Franklin & Marshall-None. A-1873

All-Tourney - Josh Sharlow (SLU), Gabriel Davis (CCNYT), Josh Hogga (GMC)
James McNally (F&M), MVP - Georgio Milligan (MVP)