LANCASTER, PA - Washington College shot 10-of-26 from beyond the three-point arc as the Shoremen knocked off Franklin & Marshall College 72-65 in Centennial Conference men's basketball action at the Mayser Center.
Trailing 7-0 through the first 104 seconds of play, the Shoremen (6-8, 4-3 Centennial Conference) began to claw their way back into the game as Kyle Stem hit back-to-back three-pointers at 18:16 and 17:38 to cut the Diplomats (7-7, 2-5 Centennial Conference) lead to a point.
Washington took the lead at the 14:53 mark as Dustin Abbate knocked down a trey for a 9-7 Shoremen lead before F&M point guard Logan Outerbridge (Jr., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) hit a jumper in the paint to knot the score at 9-9 with 14:43 left until intermission.
The team's traded threes as guard Adam Leonard (So., Muncy, PA/Muncy) drilled a trey at 13:43, Stem hit a three-pointer at 13:17 and forward Even Hamme (So., Falls Church, VA/George Mason) knocked down a three-ball from the top of the arc to give F&M a 15-12 lead with 12:57 left in the first half. The lead continued the expand as forward Bryan Teschke (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) made a jumper and a pair of free-throws to put the Diplomats in front 19-12 at the 10:41 mark.
Washington cut the lead to a point as Abbate made a pair of free throws and Eric Blumenthal connected on lay-ups at 9:43 and 9:27 to pull the Shoremen to within 19-18. Forward Brandon Smith (Sr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) gave F&M a two-point lead with a free throw, but Tim Kohlrus swished a trey to put Washington ahead 21-20 with 8:46 on the clock.
The lead traded hands four times over the next four minutes before Jonathan Webb made a pair of free-throws to put Washington ahead 27-26 at the 4:18 mark. Leading 32-30 following a lay-up by Hamme at the :53 mark, Abbate canned a trey with 39 seconds left in the first half as Washington entered the locker room with a 35-30 lead.
Overall, the Shoremen shot 11-of-25 from the field in the first half, but eight-of-18 from beyond the arc and five-of-eight at the charity stripe, while the Diplomats knocked down 12-of-27 from the field, including three-of-eight from long range, and three-of-six at the free throw line.
F&M opened the second half with a run to cut the lead to 37-35 and 39-37, but Joey Breslin made a pair of free throws and Travis Moore connected on a three-pointer to push the Shoremen's lead out to seven points with 13:05 left on the game clock.
The margin expanded to 11 points at 50-39 with 10:02 to go before Teschke made pairs of free-throws and Pat Pryzbylowski (So., Brick, NJ/Brick) canned a trey from the corner to slice the lead to 52-46 with 7:36 to play.
Scott Polyniak drained a pair of free throws to give Washington back an eight point lead, but Pryzbylowksi knocked down another three-pointer to start a 6-0 run as forward Ethan Wells (Sr., West Chester, PA/Westtown) made a lay-up and a foul shot to put the Diplomats within two points at 54-52 with 6:43 to play.
Washington countered with a 5-0 run as Breslin made a lay-up and a foul shot, while Polyniak chipped in lay-up to place the Shoremen in front 59-52 with 5:10 to go in the game.
The teams traded baskets as Teschke and Tim Kohlrus drove to the hoop before Teschke ignited a 5-0 spurt with a free throw at 3:45 and a lay-up at 3:35. Smith tacked on a hook shot at 2:42 to pull F&M back to within a basket of tying the game at 61-59, but Stem made a lay-up and a free throw at 2:35 to give Washington back a five-point lead.
Teschke trimmed the lead to three points at 64-61 with a pair of free throws at 2:15, but Stem hit a three pointer at 1:45 and a lay-up with 58 seconds to play to give his team a 69-61 lead as Washington held on through the final minute for the win.
Stem led all scorers with 24 points as he made eight-of-14 from the field, including five-of-nine from long range, and three-of-three at the line with three rebounds and three steals. Abbate added 13 points and five boards, while Breslin chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds in the effort.
For the Diplomats, Teschke finished with a team high 20 points, as he made three-of-eight from the field and 14-of-18 at the free throw line with six rebounds and two blocks. Smith added 12 points with 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks as he raised his career totals to 1,370 points, 594 rebounds, 245 assists, 62 blocks and 186 steals.
The win marks Washington's first over F&M in Lancaster since a 77-71 upset victory on February 24, 1998 in the Centennial Conference semifinals. The Diplomats finished the season 22-5 overall as F&M received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament advancing to the round of 32.
Further, the victory snaps a five game winning streak by F&M over Washington since a 96-86 loss in Chestertown on February 1, 2003. Franklin & Marshall completed the 2003 season 25-5 as the team advanced to the Centennial Conference title game and won the program's second Eastern College Athletic Conference title.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on January 14 at Swarthmore College in Centennial Conference action. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.
