LANCASTER, Pa. – Matt Porter scored a game-high 20 points to lead Franklin & Marshall to a 71-58 victory over McDaniel in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats improved to 14-3, 9-1 CC while the Green Terror dropped to 10-7, 4-6 CC. 

F&M jumped out to an early 14-4 lead 6:28 into the game and never looked back. The Diplomats maintained a double-digit edge throughout the first stanza and led by 21 on an Ed Early layup with 31 seconds left to halftime. McDaniel managed the last two points of the half to make 40-21 at the break. 

The Diplomats continued their dominance in the second and Morgan Lee's jumper at 10:18 gave F&M a 23-point, 53-30, lead. The teams exchanged mini scoring spurts with F&M still holding onto a 69-50 edge with 1:42 left. McDaniel scored eight unanswered against the Diplomats reserve players and Cedric Moune tallied the final points for the 71-58 final. 

Porter shot 6-for-12 from floor and went 7-for-7 from the line to pace F&M. Morgan Lee netted 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Ed Early pulled down eight points and added 12 points. Jon Salandra chipped in six and collected eight rebounds for the Diplomats. 

Tyler Rudd had a team-high 15 points for McDaniel and Nic Martin finished with 10. 

F&M held a commanding 40-25 edge on the glass and shot 17-for-19 from the stripe, including a perfect 13-for-13 in the second frame. 

F&M returns to action on Wednesday when the Diplomats travel to Dickinson for a 7:30 p.m. showdown.  

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 71, MCDANIEL 58

MCDANIEL (10-7, 4-6 CC)

Tyler Rudd 2-9 10-11 15; Nic Martin 3-8 4-4 10; Duane Echols 3-5 1-3 8; Evan Pupelis 3-7 0-0 6; Phillip Perry 1-4 4-4 6; Jimmy Cranwell 2-6 0-0 5; Tim Jarosinski 1-1 1-2 3; Wesley Brooks 1-4 0-0 3; Josh Smith 0-0 2-3 2; Andrew Merlo 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 16-51 22-27 58.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (14-3, 9-1 CC)

Matt Porter 6-12 7-7 20; Morgan Lee 5-6 4-4 14; Ed Early 5-11 2-4 12; Brandon Beckford 4-7 0-0 8; Jon Salandra 3-7 0-0 6; Hayk Gyokchyan 1-5 2-2 5; Cedric Moune 1-2 2-2 4; Max Brewer 1-3 0-0 2; Shawn Hines 0-0 0-0 0; Kaleb Faison 0-0 0-0 0; Terrel Phelps 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 17-19 71.

McDaniel......................   21   37  -   58

Franklin & Marshall...........   40   31  -   71

3-point goals--McDaniel 4-20 (Wesley Brooks 1-3; Duane Echols 1-3; Tyler Rudd 1-6; Jimmy Cranwell 1-1; Andrew Merlo 0-4; Phillip Perry 0-1; Nic Martin 0-2), Franklin & Marshall 2-6 (Matt Porter 1-1; Hayk Gyokchyan 1-1; Brandon Beckford 0-1; Max Brewer 0-2; Morgan Lee 0-1). 

Fouled out--McDaniel-Evan Pupelis, Franklin & Marshall-None. 

Rebounds- McDaniel 25 (Nic Martin 6; Tyler Rudd 6), Franklin & Marshall 40 (Ed Early 8; Jon Salandra 8). 

Assists--McDaniel 9 (Nic Martin 2; Evan Pupelis 2; Jimmy Cranwell 2), 

Franklin & Marshall 11 (Max Brewer 5). 

Total fouls--McDaniel 20, Franklin & Marshall 18. 

Technical fouls--McDaniel-None, Franklin & Marshall-None. A-1321