GETTYSBURG, PA - Point guard Logan Outerbridge (Jr., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) drained five-of-eight from the field, including four-of-six from beyond the arc, and two-of-two at the free throw line for a game high 16 points as the Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball team outlasted Gettysburg College 73-61 in Centennial Conference action at Bream Gymnasium.
Franklin & Marshall (4-1, 2-0 Centennial Conference) never trailed in the game as the team went on an 21-3 run following a basket by center Derek Hines (So., Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) 24 seconds into the game to go ahead to stay over the Bullets (2-2, 0-1 Centennial Conference).
Leading 6-1, the Diplomats' margin was sliced to 6-3 with 17:24 left in the first half as Gettysburg guard Matt Whelan made a lay-up. The bucket ignited the F&M offense the Diplomats went on a 17-0 spurt fueled by two foul shots and three three-pointers by Outerbridge as he accounted for 11 points, two defensive rebounds and a steal during the run as Franklin & Marshall led 23-3 with 12:23 left in the first half.
Gettysburg chipped away at the margin as Whelan made a three-pointer, Mike Spadafora dropped in a pair of free-throws and a lay-up and Matt Presby drained a three-pointer as the Bullets sliced the lead to 23-13 at the 8:52 mark.
The Diplomats built the lead back up to 19 points at 36-17 with three minutes left in the half, but the Bullets inched back to within 14 at 38-24 prior to halftime.
The key to the half was F&M's ability to score off Gettysburg turnovers as the Diplomats converted 11 Bullets' miscues into 19 points. Further, F&M held an advantage in the paint as the blue and white outscored the orange and blue 14-6 under the basket in the first 20 minutes of play.
Franklin & Marshall opened the second half with a 4-0 run on jumpers by Adam Leonard (So., Muncy, PA/Muncy) and Hines to inch the lead out to 18 points, but the Bullets cut the margin back to 14 points at 56-42 with 10:54 left on the game clock.
Gettysburg began to climb back into the game as Todd Brady drilled a three-pointer at 10:37 to start a 6-0 run to move to within 56-48 with 8:52 to play.
F&M countered with a 5-2 run courtesy a lay-up and three foul shots by Leonard to make the score 61-50 with 7:51 on the clock, but the Bullets fired back as Spadafora made a jumper, Brady connected on back-to-back lay-ups and Spadafora swished a three-pointer off an assist from Brady to trim the F&M lead back to 62-59 with 3:42 on the clock.
Forward Brandon Smith (Sr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) added to the lead as he collected a missed three-pointer by Outerbridge and hit a short jumper to start a 7-0 F&M run as forward Bryan Teschke (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) made a free throw, Leonard added two at the charity stripe and Outerbridge knocked down a jumper to put the Diplomats in front 69-59 with 1:49 left on the game clock.
Gettysburg's Mike Beck put back a missed shot by Brady at 1:34, but Hines and Teschke made two free throws apiece down the stretch as Franklin & Marshall picked up the 12-point victory.
For the Diplomats, Leonard and Teschke finished with 14 points apiece, while Hines added 13 points to join Outerbridge in double figures as four of the Diplomats' five starters broke the 10 point mark.
Smith added nine points, 11 rebounds and six assists as he missed a triple double for the second consecutive game after tallying 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in a 77-65 win over Swarthmore College on November 27 at home in the Mayser Center.
Spadafora and Brady led Gettysburg with 15 points each, while Whelan chipped in 13 points as the Bullets fall to 103-91 against Franklin & Marshall in men's basketball.
Historically, the Diplomats have won the past eight meetings between the two programs since a 50-47 Bullets' win at the Mayser Center on February 23, 2002 in the Centennial Conference title game.
The win marks the 701st in the career of Franklin & Marshall head coach Glenn Robinson (701-243) who moves to within one victory of tying former University of Albany head coach Dick Sauers (702-330) for 24th on the all-time NCAA wins list.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on December 1 at Lebanon Valley College in non-conference action. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
