Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. - Joe Meehan scored 23 points, including the final three with 0.7 showing on the clock to deliver Lebanon Valley a 62-59 upset of #4 Franklin & Marshall on Tuesday evening.  The Dutchmen (5-2) victory spoiled the Diplomats' (2-1) hopes of a second-straight, second half rally to victory. F&M climbed out of a 10-point halftime home on Saturday to knock off Gwynedd Mercy.

Trailing 35-27 at the half tonight, F&M chipped away at the deficit over the first 7:45 of the second half. At that point, Steve Tolliver drained a trey that gave the Diplomats their first lead of the night, 44-43.The lead changed hands four more times down the stretch before Meehan tied the game at 59-59 with a free throw with 68 seconds left in regulation.

F&M took two cracks at the basket on the ensuing possession, but could not get either shot to fall. LVC held the ball down to the last second. That was when Meehan dropped in a three for the night's sixth and final lead change. The ensuing, desperation inbound pass never found a Diplomat for a chance to knot it up.

Meehan shot 9-of-18 from the floor to go with four rebounds and two assists. Eight of his points were scored in the game's final five minutes. F&M's James McNally matched Meehan in points and pulled down a dozen rebounds for his second double-double in as many outings. McNally dumped in 14 of his points in the second half and blocked three shots.

Both teams struggled to find the mark in the early going. Meehan finally opened the night's scoring 2:44 in with a lay-up and a free throw to give the Dutchmen the lead it owned for the next 25:01. LVC's largest lead of the night, 11 points, came with 7:40 left in the first half. The early trend continued throughout with LVC clicking on 46 percent of its shots, while F&M hit on 39.7 of its shots.

Georgio Milligan gave F&M 15 points on an uncharacteristic 5-of-15 evening. Anthony Brooks added nine points. No other Diplomat contributed more than four points on the night. After getting 33.5 points per night from the bench during the tipoff tournament, the F&M reserves were held to nine on Tuesday.

With the loss, F&M drops to 2-1 on the season. The Diplomats will look to rebound on Saturday after the Thanksgiving holiday. F&M will host Juniata Saturday evening.

Franklin & Marshall vs Lebanon Valley
11/24/09 7:30 p.m. at Annville, Pa. (LVC Gymnasium)
At Annville, Pa. (LVC Gymnasium)

LEBANON VALLEY 62, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 59

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (2-1)
James McNally 10-18 3-4 23; Georgio Milligan 5-15 2-2 12; Anthony Brooks 3-7 3-4 9; Brandon Beckford 2-2 0-0 4; Steve Tolliver 2-8 0-0 4; Sal Salvati 1-2 0-0 3; Mike Baker 1-6 0-0 2; David Balderston 1-1 0-0 2; Hayk Gyokchyan 0-1 0-0 0; Justin Driver 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 8-10 59.

LEBANON VALLEY (3-2)
Joe Meehan 9-18 4-5 23; Sean MacIntosh 5-10 2-3 15; Anthony Trautman 3-7 0-1 6; Jordan Stewart 2-6 0-0 5; Dan Dunkelberger 1-1 2-2 4; Grant Becker 2-4 0-0 4; Zach Kebetz 0-1 3-4 3; Danny Brooks 1-2 0-0 2; Cameron Prince 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 11-15 62.

Franklin & Marshall...........   27   32  -   59
Lebanon Valley................   35   27  -   62

3-point goals--Franklin & Marshall 1-8 (Sal Salvati 1-2; Georgio Milligan 0-1; Anthony Brooks 0-1; Steve Tolliver 0-3; Justin Driver 0-1), Lebanon Valley 5-12 (Sean MacIntosh 3-6; Jordan Stewart 1-1; Joe Meehan 1-2; Anthony Trautman 0-3).

Fouled out--Franklin & Marshall-None, Lebanon Valley-None.

Rebounds--Franklin & Marshall 34 (James McNally 12), Lebanon Valley 34 (Jordan Stewart 5).

Assists--Franklin & Marshall 13 (Georgio Milligan 6), Lebanon Valley 7 (Anthony Trautman 3).

Total fouls--Franklin & Marshall 17, Lebanon Valley 11.

Technical fouls--Franklin & Marshall-None, Lebanon Valley-None.

A-515