Box Score

ST. MARY'S, Md. – James McNally scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the second half to lead Franklin & Marshall to a 92-87 victory over St. Mary's in the Sweet 16. The Diplomats will face Randolph-Macon, a 68-55 winner over DeSales, Saturday night at 7:00 p.m in the Elite Eight. This will be the ninth Elite Eight appearance for the Diplomats. Tickets will be available at the door.

McNally's layup a minute into the second half erased a four-point Seahawks' halftime lead to tie the game at 48. The Diplomats went up for good three minutes later on a Mike Baker bucket. F&M did not trail the remainder of the game. The Diplomats went on a 10-4 run over three minutes to take a seven-point, 67-60, lead at 10:42.

The teams traded buckets over the ensuing possessions and Brandon Beckford's layup at 6:26 gave F&M its largest lead of the game, an eight-point advantage, with 6:26 remaining. St. Mary's responded scoring six unanswered points to come within two points, 75-73.

At 1:34, Georgio Milligan took over, scoring four-straight points to put F&M back up by eight, 85-77, with 1:19 left in the game. Milligan hit a jumper at 1:34, blocked Alex Franz's three-point attempted seconds later and took a McNally outlook pass and slammed it home for the eight-point lead.

F&M led 88-82 with 21 seconds left as Baker hit three of four foul shots in an 11 second span. Camontae Griffin put the Seahawks within four, sinking two shots from the stripe with 20 seconds on the clock. Griffin drained a trey eight ticks later, making it a two-point game with 12 seconds left.

McNally came up big in the final 10 seconds, hitting three-of-four foul shots and collecting a board off an Anthony Brook's block to seal the victory. He finished with nine boards and shot 12-for-18 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the stripe. McNally also recorded two blocks and three steals.

The Diplomats found themselves in an early five-point hole five minutes into the contest. F&M, playing in front of a hostile crowd, committed 11 turnovers in the opening stanza, resulting in 12 Seahawk points.

Down by eight points at 13:53, F&M went on a 21-12 run lasting six minutes, to take a 31-30 lead with 7:48 remaining in the half. Both teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, before James Davenport's trey, gave St. Mary's a 44-38 edge at 3:43. F&M scored six unanswered points to tie the game at 44, before the Seahawks responded with four straight points to take a 48-44 advantage into the break.

Milligan ended the game with 22 points. He shot 7-for-11 from the floor, 2-for-3 from behind the arc and 3-for-5 from the line. Baker also scored in double-figures for F&M with 14 points. Brooks, in foul trouble early, added nine and Brandon Beckford contributed eight points for the Diplomats.

Four players scored in double-digits for St. Mary's.  Griffin and Sam Burum had 26 and 22 points respectively. Franz added 17 points and Davenport ended with 11.

F&M out shot St. Mary's 62& to 48% from the floor and held a 37-25 advantage on the glass.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 92, ST. MARY'S 87

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (26-4)

James McNally 12-18 3-4 27; Georgio Milligan 7-11 6-8 22; Mike Baker 5-8 4-6 14; Anthony Brooks 3-5 3-5 9; Brandon Beckford 4-6 0-0 8; Justin Driver 2-5 1-2 5; Steve Tolliver 2-3 1-2 5; Hayk Gyokchyan 1-2 0-0 2; Sal Salvati 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-58 18-27 92.

ST. MARY'S (26-4)

Camontae Griffin 7-17 8-8 26; Sam Burum 11-14 0-0 22; Alex Franz 5-17 4-6 17; James Davenport 4-6 1-2 11; Brian Grashof 2-5 0-0 4; Devin Spencer 1-2 0-0 3; Chris Hutchinson 1-2 0-0 2; Kyle Jarczynski 1-3 0-0 2; Johann Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-66 13-16 87.

Franklin & Marshall...........   44   48  -   92

St. Mary's....................   48   39  -   87

3-point goals--Franklin & Marshall 2-5 (Georgio Milligan 2-3; Brandon Beckford 0-1; Steve Tolliver 0-1), St. Mary's 10-21 (Camontae Griffin 4-8; Alex Franz 3-8; James Davenport 2-2; Devin Spencer 1-2; Sam Burum 0-1).

Fouled out--Franklin & Marshall-None, St. Mary's-Alex Franz.

Rebounds--Franklin & Marshall 37 (James McNally 9), St. Mary's 25 (James Davenport 6).

Assists--Franklin & Marshall 21 (Georgio Milligan 9), St. Mary's 19 (James Davenport 5).

Total fouls--Franklin & Marshall 15, St. Mary's 19.

Technical fouls--Franklin & Marshall-None, St. Mary's-TEAM.

A-1200

NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Sectional Semifinal #2

Franklin & Marshall advances to its eighth Elite Eight.