Nov. 18, 2006

Box Score

Isaiah Pinckney scored 32 points to lead Delaware Valley College (1-0) to stunning 74-67 upset over Franklin & Marshall (0-1) in the opening round of the Rotary Men's Tip-Off Tournament hosted by the Diplomats. The loss gets the Diplomats off to an 0-1 start, while Delaware Valley kicked its season off at 1-0.

The Aggies will face Lincoln, 98-91 winners over Widener in overtime, for Saturday's 8:00 p.m. final. The Diplomats will square off with Widener in the consolation game at 6:00 p.m.

Pinckney scored 24 of his 32 points in the second half to erase a seven-point locker room deficit. The Aggies trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half and 12 points in the game. Pinckney did most of his damage at the line, where he knocked down 14 of his 16 shots. He gave the Aggies their first lead of the second half with a three-pointer with 12:38 left in regulation. He went on to hit 11 free throws in the last five-and-a-half minutes to stave off a furious Diplomat rally that nearly erased an eight-point Aggies lead.

Frankin & Marshall had cut it as close as three points with 53 ticks on the clock, but Delaware Valley went eight-for-eight at the line down the stretch to hang on.

The Diplomats had owned a 31-24 lead at the half thanks in part to Evan Hamme's nine and Derek Hines' eight points in the first period. Hines finished the game as Franklin & Marshall's leading scorer with 19 points, while Hamme posted 11. Anthony Lacatena and Adam Leonard each finished in double figures as well, but it wasn't enough to overcome second half mistakes.

The Aggies were able to capitalize on those Franklin & Marshall miscues, racking up 21 points on Diplomat turnovers in the second half.