LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall point guard Duran Searles (Sr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) earned MVP honors by scoring 18 points, dishing out five assists and corralling four steals with no turnovers as the Diplomats used a 27-2 from the closing minutes of the first half to the opening moments of the second to capture the 37th Annual S. Woodrow Sponaugle Tournament title with a 90-54 victory over Guilford College.
Trailing 27-28 with 3:37 left in the first half, guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) scored a basket and converted a foul shot for a 30-28 lead to ignite the Diplomats offense which rolled on a 13-0 run to close out the half as forward Bobby Lynch (Jr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock), Searles and center Steve Juskin (Sr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) dropped in four points apiece in the final three minutes to pull away from the Quakers for good 40-28 at halftime.
The rally continued in the second half as Wright and Searles took over the game to lead the Diplomats to a 54-30 lead with 16:15 to go as Guilford failed to move within 18 points of the Diplomats for the remainder of the game.
Overall, Searles and Wright were electric in the second half as Searles connected on five-of-seven from the field, including two-of-two from long range, while Wright stroked six-of-nine through the twine, including four-of-seven from three-point range, as the duo combined for 33 points (14 and 19 points, respectively).
Leading 63-37 with 9:58 left on the clock, Searles single-handedly iced the win as he grabbed a steal and arched in a three. On the inbounds play, he stole the ball and swooped in for a lay-up. On the next inbounds, guard Brandon Smith (So., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) grabbed a steal and found a streaking Searles who flipped in a lay-up as he scored seven points in 14 seconds.
Overall, Wright led all scorers with 22 points, while Searles and Juskin added 18 and 21 points, respectively.
For Guilford, Jevon Clarke was the only players to break into double-digits as the Quakers shot 32.7% (17-of-52) from the floor in the game following a first half in which the Quakers knocked down nine-of-25, including five-of-12 from three-point range.
In the first half, the Quakers dominated the style of play in the opening minutes as Guilford ran out to a 16-6 lead 6:04 into the game behind treys from Clarke and Devon Clyburn. F&M closed to within six as Juskin and Searles hit back-to-back jumpers, but Clarke stroked a three-pointer from the top of the arch for a 19-10 lead with 12:33 to go until halftime. Juskin responded with another jumper, but Ron Bradford countered with a trey for a 22-12 Guilford lead with 10:51 left in the half.
Smith and forward Danny Lynch (Jr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) pulled F&M within a point over the next four minutes as Smith beat his defender and launched a trey which drew nothing but net to slice the Quakers lead to 22-15. Lynch took over from there converting lay-ups with 9:42, 8:52 and 7:56 to go to move within 22-21. Clarke made a jumper 31 seconds following Lynch's last lay-up to move the lead back to three, but Juskin made a lay-up to close back to within one. Eric Williams finished off the Quakers' long range threat by swishing a bomb from the left corner for a 27-23 Guilford lead. From there, it was all F&M as the Diplomats reeled off a 17-1 to close out the half on their way to the tournament title and a 2-0 start to the season.
The margin of victory marks the second most lop-sided win in Sponaugle Tournament championship game history as Lebanon Valley captured the 1973 tournament title with a 103-59 win in the Mayser Center on January 13, 1973. Since the tournament moved to the season's opening weekend in 1978, the largest margin of victory prior to the 2003 edition of tournament was a 102-77 win by the Diplomats over Millersville in the 1987 Sponaugle Tournament.
The first time Franklin & Marshall and Guilford met in basketball, the win improves the Diplomats to 19-9 all-time in Sponaugle Tournament title tilts and raises head coach Glenn Robinson's career record to 650-221, 17 wins shy of moving past all-time Division III wins leader Dennie Bridges for the division coaching record.
In the consolation game, #18 Catholic University's William Morley tallied 18 points and pulled down six rebounds to power the Cardinals to a 72-61 victory over Washington & Lee.
For his performance, Morley was named to the All-Tournament team joining Searles (F&M, MVP), Smith (F&M), Clarke (Guilford) and Washington & Lee's David Will.
Overall, Will finished with 13 points to lead four Generals' in double digits as Phil Landes (12), Matt Lawless (12) and Hamill Jones (10) scored 77 percent of Washington & Lee's offense.
The key to the game was beyond the arch as Catholic drained five-of-12 from long range in the second half, while W&L made just one-of-seven.
Franklin & Marshall (2-0) will continue the season on November 25 in the Mayser Center versus cross-county rival Elizabethtown College. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
