LANCASTER, PA - Goucher College forward Trevor Quinn went 10-for-10 at the free throw line in the second half for 10 of his game high 20 points as the Gophers held on for a 79-70 upset of #11 Franklin & Marshall in non-conference men's basketball action.
Leading 41-40 to open the second half, the Gophers (11-2, 2-0 Capital Athletic Conference) saw their lead evaporate 42 seconds into the half as F&M's Derek Hines (Fr., Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) hit a jumper for a 42-41 lead. Following a free-throw by Garrett Smith to tie the game, F&M went back in front as point guard Logan Outerbridge (So., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) connected on a lay-up for a 44-42 lead with 18:33 left on the game clock.
However, the Diplomats margin was erased 14 seconds later as Jermaine Saunders hit back-to-back lay-ups to ignite an 11-0 run over the next 6:29 as the Gophers built a 53-44 lead before Outerbridge made a jumper to trim the margin back to 53-46 with 12:04 left in the game.
Goucher responded to the bucket with a 6-0 run as James Russo canned a pair of three-pointers within ten seconds to push the margin out to 59-46 with 10:40 showing on the clock.
F&M fired back as forward Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) and Hines made lay-ups to move to within nine points (59-50) with 8:57 to go. Thirty-three seconds later, Smith made a pair of free throws to move F&M to within seven points.
Following an offensive foul, Brandon Chasen (Fr., Potomac, MD/Bullis School) cut the lead to five points as he sliced through the Gophers' defense for a lay-up with 7:45 to go, but Quinn made back-to-back lay-ups and added a foul shot following the second bucket to move Goucher's lead back to 10 points (64-54) with 6:41 on the clock.
Again, F&M countered as Chasen flipped in a put back and Hines connected on a lay-up to move to within six points before Smith drilled a jumper for a 66-58 Goucher lead with 5:25 to go in the game.
Chasen then took over the game drilling a three-pointer at 5:05, stealing the Goucher inbounds pass and laying in a bucket at 5:01 and swishing a lay-up at 3:01 to pull the Diplomats to within 66-65.
Quinn sealed the win for the Gophers as he made six straight free throws off fouls by Hines, Chasen and Anthony Lacatena (Fr., Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) to put Goucher ahead 72-65 with a minute to go in the game.
Chasen continued his one-man onslaught as he tipped in a miss by Hines with 51 seconds remaining and assisted on a three-pointer by Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) to pull F&M to within 72-70 with 22.3 second on the clock.
However, Jonathan Garritt made two pairs of free throws at 8.7 seconds and Quinn converted three foul shots at 3.3 seconds for the 79-70 final.
Overall, Garritt (11), Saunders (14), Russo (12), Quinn (20) and Smith (11) reached double digits as the Gophers shot 28-of-73 from the field (38.4%), seven-of-16 (43.8%) from beyond the arc and 76.2% (16-of-21) at the charity stripe with 38 rebounds.
For F&M, Smith finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead four Diplomats as Hines (15), Chasen (15) and Lacatena (13) reached double digits in scoring, while Wright and Chasen each tallied a game high five assists.
On the boards, Danny Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) chipped in 10 rebounds as the Diplomats pulled down 46 rebounds, including 35 off the defensive glass.
The keys to the game were F&M's shooting, defense and turnovers as the Diplomats connected on 30-of-66 field goals (45.5%), made five-of-20 three point field goals (25.0%), converted on five-of-seven at the free throw line and committed 18 turnovers in the game. In the second half, F&M struggled as the Diplomats converted on 13-of-32 (40.6%) field goals, including two-of-10 (20.0%) from beyond the arc, and two-of-four (50.0%) at the charity stripe. In addition, the Diplomats committed 12 turnovers and an offensive foul in the final 20 minutes of play as the Gophers converted for 22 points off the miscues.
Franklin & Marshall (7-2, 3-0 CC) will continue the season on January 8 at Urisnus College in Centennial Conference action. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
