LANCASTER, PA - Forward Brandon Smith (Sr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) pulled down 14 rebounds and tied his season high with 33 points for a double-double and All-Tournament honors, but Lincoln University placed three players above 20 points and on the All-Tournament team as the #21 nationally ranked Lions downed Franklin & Marshall 100-76 in the 2006 Lancaster Rotary Tip-Off the New Year Tournament title game at the Mayser Center.
For Lincoln (12-3), guard Kyle Myrick led the way as he knocked down 11-of-21 field goal attempts and three-of-four at the free throw line for 25 points while dishing out a game high 11 assists to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Tyreek Byard and Sami Wylie netted 20 and 22 points, respectively, to join Myrick on the All-Tournament team.
Lincoln trailed once in the game as the Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minute of the game behind a lay-up by Bryant Leach and a fast-break lay-up by Myrick. F&M (7-4, 2-2 Centennial Conference) countered to take the lead as Smith drilled a three-pointer at 18:45 and forward Bryan Teschke (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) hit a jumper at 17:43 to move in front 5-4. However, the Lions retook the lead 43 seconds later as Darryl White knocked down a jumper to ignite a 7-0 run as Lincoln went ahead 11-5 with 15:29 left in the first half.
Smith led F&M back to within a point as he hit a pair of short jumpers and a three-pointer as the Diplomats climbed to within 13-12 with 13:10 left in the half, but the Lions clawed their way to a 19-13 lead with a 6-1 run.
Trailing 24-14 with 10 minutes left in the first half, Franklin & Marshall trimmed the margin to 24-21 over the next two minutes as forward Evan Hamme (So., Falls Church, VA/George Mason) made a free throw and point guard Logan Outerbridge (Jr., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) hit back-to-back three-pointers. Lincoln countered the run with an 11-0 spurt as the Lions carried a 43-29 lead into halftime.
Franklin & Marshall attempted to rally in the opening minutes of the second half as Smith hit a pair of three-pointers and forward Brandon Yost (So., McDaniel, MD/St. Michael's) connected on a lay-up as the Diplomats pulled to within 43-37 with 17:21 left on the game clock. Lincoln built the lead back to 13 points over the next three minutes as the Lions engineered a 10-3 run for a 53-40 lead. F&M sliced the lead back to under 10 points at 53-44 with 14:16 on the clock, but Lincoln went on a 12-3 run to take a 65-47 lead and hold on for the win.
For F&M, guard Adam Leonard (So., Muncy, PA/Muncy) and Outerbridge each finished with 11 points, while Yost added 10 points. Teschke chipped in eight points and eight rebounds to join Smith on the All-Tournament team as he concluded the tournament with 22 points and 15 rebounds in two games, while Smith tallied 49 points, 22 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and five steals.
The 30th 30-point game in the history of men's basketball at Franklin & Marshall College, Smith's point total against the Lions marked the second time this year that he scored 33 points as he netted 33 points and pulled down eight rebounds in 37 minutes versus Trinity College in an 84-75 overtime loss in the title game of the 38th Annual S. Woodrow Sponaugle Tip-Off Classic at the Mayser Center on November 19.
Overall, Smith connected on 12-of-23 from the field, including five-of-11 beyond the arc, and four-of-seven at the free throw line with six offensive and eight defensive rebounds, two assists and two blocks. In the second half, he netted 20 points and nine rebounds, as he knocked down seven-of-12 shots, including three-of-six from long range, and three-of-four at the free throw line.
Historically, Smith raised his career totals to 1,311 points, 574 rebounds, 230 assists, 58 blocks and 177 steals in 101 games as he surpassed Chris Finch '92 (1,287), Mark Maggioncalda '92 (1,298) and Brad Markey '89 (1,298) for 12th on the all-time scoring list at the College. Further, he is now within eight points of surpassing Duran Searles '04 (1,320) for 11th, 23 points shy of eclipsing Phil Hoeker '89 (1,333) for 10th and 47 shy of surpassing Allen Taylor '82 (1,338) for ninth among all-players in program history.
The keys to the game were turnovers and free throws as the Diplomats committed 27 miscues to Lincoln's 18 and shot 15-of-27 at the line to the Lions 19-of-27.
Overall, the Diplomats out rebounded Lincoln in the game 51-44, but shot 38.8% (26-of-67) in the game, including nine-of-28 in the first half, while the Lions knocked down 47.4% (36-of-76) of their shots, including 18-of-32 (56.3%) in the first half for a 14 point lead at the break.
The title game match-up marked the fourth meeting between F&M and Lincoln in the Rotary title tilt as Franklin & Marshall was 3-0 in Rotary Tournament Championship games versus Lincoln as the Lions fell 90-66 in 1997, 92-79 in 2000 and 91-60 in 2003 prior to this year.
For Lincoln, the 2006 tournament marked the Lions ninth trip to Lancaster for the Rotary Tournament as the team appeared in the 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 fields finishing second (1997, 2000, 2003), third (1998, 1999) and fourth (1995, 2001).
In the history of the series between F&M and Lincoln, the Lions are now 3-10 all-time against Franklin & Marshall since the series began in 1949 as the Diplomats had won the last 10 meetings between the two programs since the Lions last victory (70-46 in Lincoln University on December 14, 1950). Further, it marks Lincoln's second win in Lancaster as the Lions downed F&M 65-52 victory on February 12, 1949 in the first meeting between the two programs.
The Diplomats entered the tournament looking for their 20th Rotary Championship and their 18th in the last 19 years as Franklin & Marshall won the 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 tournaments. F&M's lone loss over the previous 18 tournaments came in 1998 when Alvernia College defeated the Diplomats 86-76.
In the consolation game, All-Tournament selection Chris Jasiota went eight-for-10 from the field and two-of-three at the free line for a game high 14 points with six rebounds to lead Juniata College (6-6, 2-0 MAC Commonwealth Conference) past Mitchell College (1-10) 81-57.
The Eagles never trailed in the game as Juniata sprinted out to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes of the first half as the Pequots failed to cut the margin below eight points the rest of the way.
For Mitchell, Daniel Bastine netted 18 points, while James Dunleavy added 12 points and six rebounds and Jamal Foster chipped in 11 points and eight boards to lead the way.
Brent Ferko tacked on 12 points for Juniata as 12 different Eagles scored in the 24-point victory.
The 2006 Tip Off the New Year Tournament was presented by the Rotary Club of Lancaster, an organization of business and ethical persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
The object of the Rotary Club is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise, and in particular, to encourage and foster: (1) the development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service; (2) high ethical standards in business and professions; (3) the application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to his personal, business and community life; (4) the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
Presented by Lancaster General Hospital, the 2006 Tip Off the New Year Tournament was sponsored in the benefit of the Lancaster Community by the Rotary Club of Lancaster.
