COLLEGEVILLE, PA - Ursinus College point guard Mike McGarvey scored 23 points and handed out 12 assists as the Bears upset #11 Franklin & Marshall College 91-82 in Centennial Conference men's basketball.
Overall, Ursinus received balanced scoring from four of its starting five as Matt Fabian (14), Will Furey (17) and Bret Jenkins (10) joined McGarvey in double digits as the Bears (5-6, 2-2 Centennial Conference) handed the Diplomats (7-3, 3-1 Centennial Conference) their first conference loss of the season.
Leading 41-31 at halftime, the Bears saw their lead chipped away to three points by a 7-0 F&M run in which Bryan Teschke (So., Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) put in an offensive rebound, Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) hit a jumper and a free throw, Brandon Chasen (Fr., Potomac, MD/Bullis) laid in a field goal and Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) hit a short jumper to pull the Diplomats to within 43-40 with 17:32 left on the game clock.
However, Ursinus answered as Jenkins hit a three-pointer to ignite an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to push the margin out to 54-42 before Logan Outerbridge (So., Glen Rock. NJ/Glen Rock) hit back-to-back treys to slice the margin to 54-48 with 13:39 on the clock.
McGarvey responded for the Bears stroking a three-pointer to inch the lead back to nine points before Smith connected on a lay-up and Pat Pryzbylowski (Fr., Brick, NJ/Brick) canned a three-pointer to move to within four points at 57-53 with 11:24 on the clock.
But the Bears used the long-ball to begin to put the game away as Nick Shattuck made a three-pointer before McGarvey hit back-to-back treys all in under a minute to take a 13 point lead at 66-53 with 10:03 to play.
The Diplomats cut the margin to four points at 71-67 with 4:51 to play following a jumper by Danny Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock), but Furey hit a three-pointer as Ursinus held on for the win.
Statistically, the Diplomats dominated the opening minutes of the game as F&M built a 19-10 lead before the Bears closed the gap for a 10-point lead at halftime.
For F&M, Smith finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead five Diplomats as Lynch (10), Wright (13), Chasen (10) and Teschke (12) reached double digits in scoring, while Smith tallied a team high seven assists.
The keys to the game were F&M's shooting and rebounding as the Diplomats connected on 32-of-71 (45.1%) from the field, including eight-of-24 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, and 10-of-17 (58.8%) from the free-throw line, while Ursinus hit 30-of-54 (55.6%) from the floor, including 10-of-17 (58.8%) from beyond the arc, and 21-of-23 (91.3%) at the charity stripe.
Further, the Bears held a 42-26 advantage in rebounds, including a 32-15 advantage on the defensive glass, to keep the Diplomats' second chance hopes under the basket slim.
The loss marks the second straight for the Diplomats who dropped a 79-70 game at home to Goucher College in non-conference action on January 6. Historically, the back-to-back losses mark the first time F&M has lost consecutive games since a 79-69 loss at Gettysburg on January 12, 2002 and a 62-56 loss at Lebanon Valley College on January 14, 2002.
Further, the loss sets up a four-way tie for first play in the Centennial Conference, as F&M, Muhlenberg, Johns Hopkins and Dickinson are now all 3-1 in conference play.
Franklin & Marshall (7-3, 3-1 CC) will continue the season on January 11 at home versus Muhlenberg in Centennial Conference action. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m.
