LANCASTER, PA - Forward Bryan Teschke (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball to a critical 69-60 win over McDaniel College in Centennial Conference men's basketball at the Mayser Center.
The Diplomats (12-12, 7-10 Centennial Conference) entered the night two games behind Muhlenberg College and Haverford College for the fifth and final playoff berth in the Centennial Conference playoffs. However, Ursinus College (19-5, 15-2 CC) downed Haverford (10-13, 8-9 CC) 88-61 to clinch the #1 seed for the playoffs, and Dickinson's Brad Litchfield drained a three-pointer with one second left on the game clock to lift the Red Devils (6-18, 4-13 CC) to a 73-72 win over Muhlenberg (13-11, 8-9 CC).
The F&M win combined with the losses by Haverford and Muhlenberg sets up a dramatic final day of the season as the Diplomats will host #2 seed Johns Hopkins (17-6, 14-3 CC), while Muhlenberg hosts Ursinus and Haverford travels to Swarthmore College (4-20, 3-14 CC). Earlier this season, Swarthmore defeated Haverford 60-43 in Haverford on January 18. If the Diplomats knock off Hopkins, and Muhlenberg and Haverford fall, Franklin & Marshall will clinch the fifth and final playoff berth courtesy a victory over Hopkins as the teams all split among one another and were swept by Ursinus.
Against McDaniel (8-16, 6-11 CC), Franklin & Marshall never trailed in the game as the Diplomats jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 17:20 left in the first half. The Green Terror lighted the scoreboard with a lay-up by Chad Arrington at 14:53, but the Diplomats engineered an 8-0 run courtesy three lay-ups and a jumper by center Derek Hines (So., Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) to go in front 15-2.
McDaniel responded with an 11-0 run behind six points from Josh McKay courtesy a pair of free throws and a lay-up to pull the Terror to within 15-13 at the 8:33 mark, but Hines tipped in a missed shot and point guard Logan Outerbridge (Jr., Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) connected on a three-pointer to give F&M a 20-13 lead.
Will Talesnick hit a three-pointer to pull McDaniel back to within four points of the lead at 20-16, but Franklin & Marshall ripped off an 11-0 run with five points by Outerbridge and four by Teschke to roll out to a 31-16 lead with 4:17 left in the half.
The Green Terror closed out the first half with a 7-3 run to move to within 34-23 at the break.
Overall, Hines and Outerbridge keyed the Diplomats in the first half as the duo scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, as Franklin & Marshall shot 55.6% (15-of-27) from the field while holding McDaniel to 23.5% (eight-of-34).
In the second half, McDaniel sliced the lead to 38-30 with 15:11 to play, but the Diplomats went on a 12-1 run fueled by nine points from Teschke to take a 50-31 lead.
McDaniel rallied to get the margin down to 11 points at 55-44 with 6:25 to play, but Hines converted a pair of free throws and Teschke added a lay-up to inch the lead back to 15 points at 59-44 at the 4:45 mark.
The lead fell below 10 points at the 3:04 mark as Will Talesnick made a lay-up to the Green Terror to within 59-50. However, the teams traded points the rest of the way as the Diplomats held on for the nine-point victory.
Teschke led the Diplomats in the second half making six-of-seven from the field and six-of-seven at the charity stripe for 16 points.
Overall, Hines finished the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Outerbridge tacked on 16 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Another key performer was forward Brandon Smith (Sr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) who pulled down 15 rebounds, including 14 defensive boards, with three points, four assists, three blocks and a steal.
For McDaniel, Arrington led the way scoring 15 points with 16 rebounds and three steals, while Talesnick added 12 points, Mike DiPiero chipped in nine points and McKay tacked on eight points.
The win marks the 17th consecutive victory for Franklin & Marshall over McDaniel in men's basketball as the Green Terror have not defeated the Diplomats since a 75-68 victory on January 17, 1998 in Westminster, Maryland. In addition, the win completes a season sweep for F&M over McDaniel as the Diplomats handled the Terror 74-63 on January 25.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on February 18 at home versus Johns Hopkins University. Game time is set for 4 p.m. with the College's annual alumni game at 2:00 p.m.
