LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall center Dan Lynch (Sr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) recorded 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes as the #1 seed Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball team knocked off #8 seed Lincoln University of Pennsylvania 116-100 at the Mayser Center in the quarterfinals of the 2005 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Championship Tournament.
The score marks the second most points scored in the history of Franklin & Marshall men's basketball and the most points ever scored by two teams in a game in the Mayser Center,
Historically, the 1978 team defeated Salisbury University 118-69 on February 29, 1996 at the Mayser Center in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the most points scored by the Diplomats and the record for most points by two teams in Mayser. Further, the game marks the second most points ever scored by an F&M team in a game and in Mayser behind only the Salisbury game, and the game's 216 total points trail only a 111-110 win at Shepherd College on January 7, 1978 for the most points scored by the Diplomats and another team in a game.
Further, F&M drained 14-of-23 from beyond the arc to tie the school record for most three-pointers in a game as the 2002 Diplomats connected on 14-of-28 in a 100-68 win over Albright College in the Mayser Center on December 3, 2001.
Statistically, the Diplomats dominated the game connecting on 34-of-56 from the field (60.7%), including 20-of-30 in the first half (66.7%). Beyond the arc, F&M hit 60.9% of its attempts, including 11-of-16 (68.8%) in the first half, and added a 35-of-47 performance from the charity stripe (74.5%), including a 27-of-38 mark (71.1%) in the second half.
The 2002 and 2003 ECAC Champions, F&M is now 6-0 all-time in ECAC competition after defeating Lebanon Valley (71-59 W) and Kings (82-65 W) to take the 2003 title and Moravian College (79-59 W), Neumann College (90-66 W) and DeSales University (70-60 W) to win the 2003 crown.
Leading 59-41 at halftime, the Diplomats leaned on Lynch in the second half as the senior center connected on four-of-seven from the field and nine-of-13 at the free throw line with four rebounds and two assists in the second half.
Overall, Lynch finished the game nine-of-12 from the field, one-of-two from beyond the arc and 13-of-17 at the free throw line as he recorded the 29th 30-point game in school history. The last 30-point game belonged to forward/guard Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) who notched 36 points and 17 rebounds in an 85-76 win at DeSales University on January 17.
Statistically, six Diplomats reached double-digits in the game as Smith added 26 points and seven rebounds, point guard Logan Outerbridge (So., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) dropped in 17 points, guard Brandon Chasen (Fr., Potomac, MD/Bullis) scored 12 points with four assists, guard Adam Leonard (Fr., Muncy, PA/Muncy) and forward Bryan Teschke (So., Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) netted 11 points apiece, while guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) tacked on seven points to account for all of F&M's scoring.
Franklin & Marshall, which trailed once in the game for 16 seconds as Lincoln's Kyle Myrick hit a free throw 10 seconds into the game, opened their scoring 26 seconds into the game as Lynch dropped in a lay-up for a 2-1 lead. Lynch scored again at the 18:47 mark before Alexis Perez stroked a three-pointer at 17:58 to knot the game at 4-4. However, Outerbridge responded with a three-pointer at 17:10 to give the Diplomats a 7-4 lead.
Leading 14-10 following a lay-up by Lincoln's Thomas Hickson at 15:08, F&M exploded as Wright and Smith drained back-to-back three pointers at 14:50 and 14:02 to push the lead out to 20-10.
The Lions managed to slice the lead to three points at 20-17 as Jarett Kearse hit a lay-up at 13:11, but Outerbridge canned a three-pointer at 12:43 for a 23-17 lead.
Lincoln cut the lead back to 23-19 following a jumper by Kearse, but Smith made one-of-two at the free throw line and Chasen swished a three-pointer at 10:52 for a 27-19 margin.
Kyle Myrick hit a jumper to move the Lions to within 27-21, but Leonard drilled a jumper at 10:08 and fired in a three-pointer at 9:34 to shove the lead out to 32-21. Darryl White made a jumper for the Lions to move back to within 10 points at 32-23, but Leonard and Smith made back-to-back three-pointers at 8:52 and 8:26, respectively, to move the lead to 15 points at 38-23.
Lincoln pulled to within 11 points at 44-33 with 4:48 left in the half, but Lynch ended the Lions run with a three-pointer from the top of the arc at 4:14. The Lions countered as Kearse and Myrick made jumpers at 4:00 and 3:31, respectively, to trim the Diplomats lead to 47-37.
However, Lynch and Smith took care of the rest of the half as Lynch made a pair of free throws at 2:24 and connected on a lay-up at 2:02 before Smith swished a three-pointer at 1:18 and finished a driving lay-up at :57 for a 56-37 lead. Lincoln's Linwood Gilmore tipped in a missed shot at :43 and Myrick made a pair of free-throws at :12 to trail 56-41, but Outerbridge netted a three-pointer at the first half buzzer for a 59-41 lead at the break.
After halftime, the Lions jumped on the scoreboard first with a lay-up to trim the lead back to 16 points before Smith shook his defender and drained a three-pointer at 19:00 for a 62-43 lead.
The lead swayed between 17-to-20 points until Lynch and Leonard made lay-ups at 14:36 and 13:52, respectively, for a 79-56 margin. The Lions sliced the margin back to under 20 points at 81-64 with 10:36 left on the clock.
Leading 86-70 with 8:18 left to play, Franklin & Marshall began to expand the lead again as Wright and Kearse traded three-pointers before Lynch and Teschke hit back-to-back jumpers at 7:31 and 7:02 and Leonard added a free throw at 6:40 for a 94-73 lead.
The Lions cut the lead back to 15 points at 94-79 with 6:02 on the clock, but F&M went on a 6-2 run from the free throw line to lead 100-81 with 4:47 left to play as Franklin & Marshall coasted to the 16 point victory.
For Lincoln, Kearse finished 11-of-31 from the field, six-of-20 from beyond the arc and 12-of-16 at the free throw line with five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 38 minutes for 40 points. Further, Myrick added 29 points on nine-of-25 from the field and 11-of-13 from the free throw line, White chipped in 11 points with 12 rebounds and Hickson dropped in 10 points for the Lions.
Historically, Kearse's performance marks the most points scored by one player against the Diplomats since Ursinus' Dennis Stanton dropped in 55 points in Collegeville on February 7, 2004 in a 104-92 win for the last time F&M has allowed 100 points in a game.
Overall, the Lions shot 32-of-80 from the field (40.0%), eight-of-28 from beyond the arc (28.6%) and 28-of-36 from the free throw line (77.8%) with seven assists, 15 turnovers and 34 personal fouls.
Statistically, the Diplomats and Lions were even in rebounds at 39 apiece as Lincoln tallied 18 offensive and 21 defensive boards, while Franklin & Marshall pulled down six offensive and 33 defensive boards.
Historically, Franklin & Marshall now holds a 10-2 advantage in the series with Lincoln, including a 10 game winning streak dating back to a 70-46 loss at Lincoln on December 15, 1950 as part of a 10-8 season.
Franklin & Marshall will now host the semifinals and finals of the ECAC Tournament in the Mayser Center on March 4-5.
On March 4, F&M will face #4 seed the University of Scranton at 6:00 p.m. in the semifinals as the Royals held off #5 seed Alvernia 62-56 in Scranton. In the 8:00 p.m. semifinal, #2 Carnegie Mellon University, which defeated #7 Gettysburg College 66-60 in Pittsburgh, will face #6 Catholic University of America as the Cardinals upset #3 DeSales University 72-71 in overtime in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.
On Saturday, the semifinal winners will take to the court at 7:00 p.m. in the Mayser Center for the 2005 ECAC South Region Championship.
F&M is 3-2 all-time against Scranton as the Diplomats and Royals have not met since a 75-62 win by the Diplomats at the Albright College Tournament on January 6, 1996.
Ticket prices are $4 for adults, $2 for students (13-18 without ID) and free for youth 12 and under. Also, students from the participating teams are admitted free upon presentation of a current school ID.
