GETTYSBURG, PA -- Center Steve Juskin (Sr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) scored 16 points, pulled down six rebounds and blocked four shots as the #14 ranked Franklin & Marshall Diplomats dropped Gettysburg College 68-56 in Centennial Conference men's basketball.
The win improves the Diplomats, ranked #1 in the February 4 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Poll, to 17-2 on the year and 12-0 in Centennial Conference play as Franklin & Marshall now holds a four game lead in the CC regular season race courtesy a loss by Johns Hopkins versus Swarthmore and a defeat of Ursinus by Washington.
Overall, Franklin & Marshall becomes the first team to clinch a spot in the Conference playoffs. With six games remaining, F&M's magic number to clinch the tournament's top seed and hosting rights is three.
Against Gettysburg, the key to the game was at the free-throw line as F&M connected on 23-of-34 attempts off 23 Bullets' fouls, while Gettysburg made three-of-six attempts on 13 Franklin & Marshall fouls.
Leading 28-24 at halftime, the Diplomats took over the game to push the lead out to nine points as point guard Duran Searles (Sr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) drained a three-pointer and Juskin hit a jumper to take a 33-24 lead with 18:17 left in the game.
The Bullets responded as Dami Oloruntoba and Kyle Jakobe hit back-to-back three-pointers to slice the lead to three before guard Brandon Smith (So., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) drove to the basket for a bucket and tacked on a free-throw courtesy a foul by Kyle McGlensesy to move the lead back to six.
Gettysburg fired back with a with a 4-2 run fueled by a lay-up by Oloruntoba and a jumper by David Glaser to move within 38-36 before Searles split the Bullets' defense for a circus-like reverse lay-up to move the Diplomats ahead 40-36.
Erik Fromm dropped in a lay-up and added a free-throw off a foul by Smith to put the Diplomats' lead in danger at 40-39 with 14:05 left on the game clock.
However, the lead ballooned back out to five over the next 70 seconds as Juskin chipped in a pair of attempts at the charity stripe before exploding for back-to-back blocked shots of jumpers by Todd Brady and Glaser before Danny Lynch (Jr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) corralled the defensive board.
Juskin continued his dominance on the other end of the court forcing Glaser into a foul for a pair of free throws and a 44-39 lead with 12:55 to go.
Again the Bullets answered as Oloruntoba banked in a "three" to trim the lead back to two at 44-42 before the Diplomats' offense came to life.
Following Oloruntoba's "three", forward Bobby Lynch (Jr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) spun around his defender and tipped in a shot at 11:37 to ignite a 9-0 run during a two minute span.
Searles slipped in a lay-up before Smith converted a pair of foul shots at 10:27 to push the lead back to eight. The Diplomats' defensive pressure did the rest as F&M allowed only one Gettysburg shot during the stretch, a lay-up attempt by Glaser, before Bobby Lynch slapped a pass away from Oloruntoba and hit Smith in stride. After resetting the offense, Smith arched in a three-pointer from the left corner of the arc for a 53-42 lead.
The Bullets failed to recover from the onslaught as Gettysburg could only manage to slice the lead to eight at 62-54 with 2:03 on the clock before the foul line sealed the game.
Over the last two minutes of the game, Searles and guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) iced the win as the duo combined to shoot six-for-nine down the stretch in a 6-0 run before Julius Redd connected on a jumper for the 68-56 final.
In the first half, Smith's game-opening three-pointer gave the Diplomats a lead they wouldn't relinquish as the visitors built their advantage to 9-2 on a three-point play by Bobby Lynch with 4:54 gone in the game. A three-point play by Searles extended the lead to 17-6 and Smith converted a third chance put-back to make it 21-8 with 7:48 left in the half.
Todd Brady scored on a driving lay-up and Fromm came off the bench with five points to key an 11-3 Bullets' run that brought Gettysburg within 24-19. Bobby Lynch hit one-of-two free throws and Logan Outerbridge (Fr., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) came off the bench to drill his lone trey of the night to make it 28-19, but Fromm converted a lay-up and Chris Pombar knocked down a three-pointer to keep the Diplomats within striking distance at 28-24 entering the break.
Overall, all five F&M starters finished in double-digits as Lynch (10), Smith (14), Wright (13) and Searles (12) complimented Juskin's 16 markers to account for 65 of the team's 68 points.
For Gettysburg, Glaser led the way with 14 points and six rebounds, while Oloruntoba and Fromm added 10 points apiece, as the three were the only Bullets to crack double-digits.
The game was similar to last year's meeting between the two teams in Gettysburg as Franklin & Marshall knocked off the host Bullets 68-52. Historically, the victory extends F&M's winning streak over Gettysburg to four games.
Further, the home team in the series is now 8-2 over the last 10 games as the Bullets have dropped the last two decisions at home to the Diplomats, while F&M handled Gettysburg 74-72 in Lancaster on December 10.
Historically, the victory raises F&M head coach Glenn Robinson's record to 665-233 as the long-time head coach in his 33rd season surpassed legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden (664 wins) for 25th place on the all-division men's basketball wins list. In addition, the victory moves Robinson to within two games of eclipsing former Illinois Wesleyan head coach Dennie Bridges (666 wins) for the all-time Division III men's basketball wins record.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on February 7 on the road at Ursinus College. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
