HAVERFORD, PA - Twins Bobby & Danny Lynch (Jr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) combined for 20 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists in 56 minutes as the Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball team rallied for a 69-67 victory over Haverford College in the Diplomats' Centennial Conference season opener.
For F&M (3-1, 1-0 Centennial Conference), the game was a seesaw battle as the lead changed 18 times and was tied seven times.
Leading 65-58 with 4:45 left on the clock, the Diplomats were forced to outlast a dynamic Haverford comeback attempt as Mike Kelly and Johnny Elefterakis drained three-pointers to slice the Diplomats' lead to one at 65-64 with 3:44 showing on the game clock. Center Steve Juskin (Sr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) countered dropping in a jumper for two of his four points in the game to push the lead back to three at 67-64 with 3:18 left on the clock.
But the Fords would not go quietly as Patrick Stewart drained a trey with 2:50 on the clock to tie the score at 67-67. Twenty-two seconds later the Diplomats received the game-winning break as Matt Stein fouled Bob Lynch who made both foul shots for a 69-67 lead with 2:28 to go.
The rest of the game depended on the Diplomats' defense as Bob Lynch grabbed a steal from Stein with 1:56 left. Following a missed jumper by Brandon Smith with 1:35 on the clock, Juskin fouled Stein at the 1:21 mark for a one-and-one situation.
Needing the foul shot to pull within one, Stein's attempt went off the iron as guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) grabbed the defensive rebound.
Following a timeout at the 1:14 mark, Duran Searles (Sr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) three-pointer with 49 seconds to go bounced off the rim and was recovered by the senior point guard as Franklin & Marshall was able to run the clock down to 20 seconds before turning it over.
Haverford called a timeout to set up a play as Jeremy Bass' jumper with two seconds left went off the rim and out of bounds as the Fords retained possession of the ball with one second showing on the clock. Facing a jumper for a tie and a three-pointer for a loss, the Diplomats' defense stiffened, as the Fords were unable to launch a final shot.
The key to the game was points in the paint as the Diplomats held a 32-22 advantage inside the key behind Danny Lynch.
Playing in the spot of Juskin who played just four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Dan Lynch stepped into the spot and grabbed five rebounds and chipped in four points in the first half to keep the Diplomats close as Haverford led 36-35 at the break.
Overall, Dan Lynch failed to score in the second half but appeared for 13 second half minutes as he teamed with his twin to shut down the Fords' inside scoring threat.
For Franklin & Marshall, Smith made seven-of-12, including three-of-four in the second half, for a team high 17 points. Bobby Lynch added 16 points, including six-of-10 at the foul line, and a game high seven rebounds and four steals, while Searles and Wright chipped in 12 and 14 points, respectively.
Haverford's Stewart led all scorers with 19 points, while Elefterakis, Bass and Stein tallied 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Fords fall to 10-55 all-time against Franklin & Marshall. Historically, the loss marks Haverford's 25th straight to the Diplomats since the Fords' last victory in the series in 1977.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on December 10 at home versus Gettysburg College. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
