Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. - James McNally's sixth double-double this season led #15 Franklin & Marshall to a 69-63 victory over Muhlenberg in a Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball game Monday evening. The game marked the second time in six days that the top-two teams in the CC played each other, with F&M winning both. The win gives the Diplomats (18-3, 12-2 CC) a two-game cushion in the conference with four games remaining in the regular season.

The Diplomats never trailed and led by 10 points with 7:49 remaining in the game before Muhlenberg (12-9, 10-4 CC) answered. The Mules went on a 10-4 run over four minutes to come within four points, 64-60, with 3:26 on the clock. McNally hit a layup seconds later and Brandon Beckford collected a steal and took the ball coast-to-coast to make the score 68-60.

Muhlenberg made three-straight foul shots to come within five with 2:09 left and both teams struggled to make a basket in the final two minutes. Beckford blocked a shot with 21 seconds left and McNally hit a free throw five seconds later for the 69-63 final.

The game started out with each teams trading buckets for the first five minutes. F&M went up by eight points on an Anthony Brooks' dunk seven minutes into the contest. The Diplomats went up 11 points on a McNally layup with 6:12 remaining before the Mules countered with an 11-0 run to knot the game a 25 apiece. Steve Tolliver and Brooks' both made jumpers over the final two minutes to give F&M a slight 29-27 advantage at the half.

McNally scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and pulled down 13 boards in the game. He shot 10-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the line. Anthony Brooks was a point and a rebound shy of a double-double, scoring nine and collecting nine boards. Steve Tolliver added 11 points, shooting 3-for-8 from behind the arc.

F&M came into the game with the second ranked defense in the country and lived up to the billing. The Diplomats blocked seven shots and picked up nine steals throughout the game.

The Diplomats secured a playoff spot with their win over Ursinus last week and look to move up in the regional rankings later this week.

F&M returns to the court on Wednesday when they Diplomats travel to Gettysburg for a CC double-header. The women tip-off at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 69, MUHLENBERG 63

MUHLENBERG (12-9, 10-4 CC)

Spencer Liddic 6-13 8-9 20; Ryan Foster 8-16 2-2 19; Justin Greenstone 3-4 2-2 10; Obi Nwizugbo 3-7 1-3 7; Rob Berish 1-3 0-0 3; Evan Tozer 1-9 0-0 2; Brian Frankoski 0-1 2-2 2; Hunter Forsman 0-0 0-0 0; Matt O'Hara 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 15-18 63.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (18-3, 12-2 CC)

James McNally 10-15 4-5 24; Steve Tolliver 4-11 0-0 11; Anthony Brooks 3-7 3-6 9; Brandon Beckford 3-5 0-0 7; Georgio Milligan 3-9 0-0 6; Mike Baker 3-8 0-0 6; Justin Driver 2-4 0-0 4; Hayk Gyokchyan 1-5 0-0 2; Sal Salvati 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 7-11 69.

Muhlenberg....................   27   36  -   63

Franklin & Marshall...........   29   40  -   69

3-point goals--Muhlenberg 4-16 (Justin Greenstone 2-2; Rob Berish 1-3; Ryan Foster 1-6; Evan Tozer 0-4; Obi Nwizugbo 0-1), Franklin & Marshall 4-16 (Steve Tolliver 3-8; Brandon Beckford 1-2; Georgio Milligan 0-1; Hayk Gyokchyan 0-2; Sal Salvati 0-1; Anthony Brooks 0-2).

Fouled out--Muhlenberg-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.

Rebounds--Muhlenberg 36 (Spencer Liddic 10), Franklin & Marshall 35 (James McNally 13).

Assists--Muhlenberg 10 (Justin Greenstone 3), Franklin & Marshall 13 (Georgio Milligan 4; Anthony Brooks 4).

Total fouls -Muhlenberg 14, Franklin & Marshall 15.

Technical fouls--Muhlenberg-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.

A-788