LANCASTER, PA - Guard/forward Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) scored a game high 26 points and grabbed two steals to lead the #6 ranked Franklin & Marshall College (3-0, 2-0 Centennial Conference) men's basketball team to an 89-78 win over Haverford College (1-4, 0-1 Centennial Conference) in Centennial Conference action at the Mayser Center.
Historically, Smith's performance was four points shy of the 27th 30-point game in the 102 years of basketball at the College as guard Duran Searles '04 last accomplished the feat on February 21, 2004 with 36 points in a 96-78 win at Washington College.
Forward Bobby Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) added 18 points with 10 rebounds, while point guard Logan Outerbridge (So., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) chipped in 13 points and four steals and center Danny Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) dropped in 13 points to round out the Diplomats in double digits.
The Diplomats never trailed in the game as Smith hit back-to-back baskets to open the game and Bobby Lynch connected on back-to-back lay-ups with a foul shot in the opening 2:30 of the game as Franklin & Marshall built a 9-0 lead and carried a 45-31 lead into halftime.
F&M pushed the lead out to 17 points with 14:42 left in the second half as Danny Lynch drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc, but Haverford responded to trim the margin to 74-65 with 9:34 to go before Smith hit a driving lay-up to put the lead back at 11 points.
Lynch hit a lay-up to push the lead to 13 points, but Johnny Elefterakis hit the first of two free-throw attempts with 5:50 left for a 78-66 game. Matt Stein connected on a lay-up and Jeremy Bass drained a three-pointer to pull the Fords to within seven at 78-71.
Bobby Lynch hit a lay-up and Mark Gabriel connected on a jumper to keep the lead at seven points with 3:41 left, but Smith and Lynch made four free throws to edge the margin out to 84-73 with 2:36 remaining on the clock.
Haverford fired back as Gabriel swooped in for a lay-up and Bass arched in a three-pointer to move to within 84-78 with 1:28 to go, but the F&M defense stiffened to hold on for the win.
The key to the closing minutes occurred with 37.5 seconds to go as Smith drove to the basket but was intentionally fouled by Jason Polykoff for two free throws and the ball back. Following Smith's free throws, Bobby Lynch dropped in a bucket with 26 seconds on the clock for an 88-78 lead before Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) made a free-throw with 19 seconds left for one of his six points and the final marker in the 11 point win.
The keys to the game were rebounding and free-throws as F&M held a 32-21 advantage on the boards, including a 11 to five edge on the offensive glass, and made 14-of-22 opportunities at the charity stripe to Haverford's nine-of-16 performance.
For Haverford, Gabriel finished with 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the Fords. Elefterakis added 14 points, while Bass and Stein chipped in 15 and 12 points, respectively, as the Fords fall to 10-57 all-time against Franklin & Marshall. Historically, Haverford has not defeated F&M in men's basketball since 1977 - a streak of 27 consecutive games.
Franklin & Marshall (3-0, 2-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on December 7 at Gettysburg College in Centennial Conference action. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m.
