SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Georgio Milligan netted a game-high 21 points as No. 21 Franklin & Marshall defeated Swarthmore 67-57 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action. The Diplomats (19-4, 14-2 CC) earned the right to host CC playoffs with their ninth-straight victory.

F&M started out with a 7-4 advantage four minutes into the contest with five points from Brandon Beckford. The Diplomats went up 10-9 before Swarthmore (6-7, 3-13 CC) went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-10 lead at 10:47.  F&M countered outscoring the Garnet 10-5 to tie the contest at 20 with 5:41 remaining in half.  James McNally scored six points as the Diplomats went on a 10-2 run to end half and go into the break with a 30-22 lead.

The Diplomats opened up the second half with a 13-7 run to take a 14-point, 43-29, edge just over six minutes into the stanza. The Garnet came within five points at 7:05, but F&M quickly responded with an 11-1 run to go up 15, 60-45, at 4:27.  F&M held at least a nine-point cushion the remainder of the contest.

Milligan added a career-high seven steals while finishing with six assists and six rebounds.  Mike Baker scored 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting.  McNally and Beckford both finished with nine points apiece.

Will Gates led the way for Swarthmore. Gates scored 19 points while Jordan Federer and Jordan Martinez finished with 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Diplomats outshot the Garnet 47% to 36% while Swarthmore came with a 35-32 advantage on the glass. F&M picked up 12 steals and six blocks on the defensive side.

F&M returns to action on Wednesday with an 8 p.m. contest against Johns Hopkins.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 67, SWARTHMORE 57

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (19-4, 14-2)
Georgio Milligan 9-14 1-4 21; Mike Baker 5-9 0-0 10; James McNally 4-7 1-1 9; Brandon Beckford 3-7 2-2 9; Hayk Gyokchyan 3-6 1-3 7; Steve Tolliver 2-6 0-0 5; Max Brewer 1-6 1-2 4; Nick Mraz 0-0 1-2 1; Matt Porter 0-2 1-2 1; Jon Salandra 0-0 0-0 0; Dave Balderston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 8-16 67.

SWARTHMORE (6-17, 3-13)
Will Gates 6-19 5-6 19; Jordan Federer 3-4 5-5 12; Jordan Martinez 4-7 2-2 11; Jordan Cheney 3-4 3-3 9; Ryan Carmichael 1-3 0-0 3; Joe Keedy 0-4 2-3 2; Michael Giannangeli 0-0 1-2 1; Eugene Prymak 0-0 0-0 0; Sam Lacy 0-3 0-0 0; Davis Ancona 0-2 0-0 0; Andrew Greenblatt 0-0 0-0 0; Marc Rogalski 0-1 0-0 0; Sean Conroe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 18-21 57.

Franklin & Marshall...........   30   37  -   67
Swarthmore....................   22   35  -   57

3-point goals--Franklin & Marshall 5-15 (Georgio Milligan 2-4; Max Brewer 1-3; Steve Tolliver 1-4; Brandon Beckford 1-4), Swarthmore 5-17 (Will Gates 2-10; Jordan Federer 1-2; Jordan Martinez 1-2; Ryan Carmichael 1-1; Sam Lacy 0-1; Joe Keedy 0-1).

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

Rebounds--Franklin & Marshall 32 (Hayk Gyokchyan 8), Swarthmore 35 (Will Gates 7).

Assists--Franklin & Marshall 16 (Georgio Milligan 6), Swarthmore 6 (Jordan Federer 2; Joe Keedy 2).

Total fouls--Franklin & Marshall 17, Swarthmore 16.

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

A-502