LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College guard Bryan Teschke (Fr., Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) made the back-end of a pair of free-throws with seven seconds on the clock to give the #9 nationally ranked Diplomats a two-point cushion as F&M knocked off #6 Hampden-Sydney College 78-76 to advance to the NCAA Division III Men's "Sweet 16".
The shot closed out a hectic final half in which the Tigers came back from a 13-point deficit to tie the game at 55-55 with 9:43 left on the clock.
Hampden-Sydney took the lead 57-55 as Jason Holman made a lay-up at 9:32. F&M responded as point guard Duran Searles (Sr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) drilled a three-pointer for a 58-57 lead with 7:47 to play. HSC countered with a jumper by Brian Gunn at 7:36 before David Willson hit a jumper for a 61-58 Tigers' lead wit 7:00 on the game clock.
However, the Diplomats rallied as center Steve Juskin (Sr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) kissed a jumper off the front of the rim which rolled through back and down the net to pull within 61-60 with 6:46 to go. F&M retook the lead following HSC's next possession as guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) stole a pass and drilled a "three" for a 63-61 Franklin & Marshall lead with 6:10 on the clock.
HSC's Jeff Monroe countered firing a three-pointer which drew nothing but net to put the Tigers back in front 64-63 at 5:49.
Needing a player to step up to take over the game, Searles responded beating two defenders before caressing a lay-up into the net to retake the lead at 65-64 with 5:33 to play. The Tigers' Mike Thompson answered with a lay-up at 5:10 to put HSC back in front 66-65 and give Hampden-Sydney its last lead of the game.
The free-throw line would be the doom of the Tigers as Juskin and Searles made pairs at 4:51 and 4:41, respectively, to go ahead 69-66 before Monroe hit a jumper to trim the margin to two at 69-68 with 4:07 to go.
Forward Bobby Lynch (Jr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) pushed the lead back to three at 71-68 with a pair of free-throws at 3:55 before Gunn knotted the game at 71-71 with a three-pointer at 2:39.
The foul line was the Diplomats' salvation as Searles made a pair and forward Brandon Smith (So., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) drained a pair of "charity stripe" chances to go ahead 75-71 with 1:09 left on the clock.
But the Tigers would not go quietly as Monroe made the back-end of a pair of free-throws to trim the lead back to 75-72 with :57.5 left before Searles knocked down a pair of free-throws at :51.4 to go ahead by five at 77-72.
The game became a nail-biter down the stretch as Monroe canned a jumper at :44.7 to move within three at 77-74.
HSC had a chance to take the game at Wright accepted a full-court pass and was called for an offensive foul to give the Tigers back the ball with :37.1 left on the clock. The penalty was his fifth as Teschke was entered into the lineup to take his place.
The Diplomats' defense did the rest as Juskin and Searles both registered blocks before Monroe hit a lay-up to slice the F&M lead to 77-76 with 10.7 seconds on the clock.
Teschke did the rest as he corralled a full-court pass dribbled and was fouled by Monroe to put the freshman on the line with seven seconds left. His first shot rolled off the rim, but his second drew nothing but net as the Diplomats' defense held on for the two-point win.
The margin of victory summarizes a game in which the two nationally ranked powerhouses traded buckets at an alarming rate as Franklin & Marshall shot 50.8% (32-of-63) from the field and Hampden-Sydney made 47.1% (24-of-51) of their field goals.
The key to the game was at the foul line as F&M drained 23-of-27, including 18-of-21 in the second half, while the Tigers mustered a six-of-15 performance at the stripe, including five-of-nine in the second half.
Overall, Wright led the way for F&M with 18 points to lead all five F&M starters in double figures. Searles chipped in 17 points, Juskin added 13, Smith dropped in 12 and Lynch notched 11 in the winning effort. Ironically, the most important points of the game came from the game's lowest scorer as Teschke made two-of-four at the foul line for two points in eight minutes of play.
Monroe led the Tigers with 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting, while Brandon Randall and Jason Holman chipped in 10 points apiece. Thompson tacked on 12 points as the Tigers close out the year 25-5.
The Diplomats will continue the season on Friday in the "Sweet 16" versus Gwynedd-Mercy College which handled Catholic University of America 74-72 in overtime. The Diplomats and Griffins will be joined by Amherst (113-85 W over Plymouth State) and New Jersey City (74-67 W over Lycoming) as the sectional site will be announced tomorrow.
