LANCASTER, Pa. – Brandon Federici scored a game-high 19 points to lead Franklin & Marshall to a 63-57 victory over New Jersey City in the Lancaster Rotary – F&M Tip Off Tournament Championship Game. The Diplomats improved to 2-0 while the Gothic Knights dropped to 1-1. 

F&M jumped out to an early 7-0 advantage with five points from Federici in the first three minutes of action. The Diplomats continued to lead by at least five points over the next eight minutes before New Jersey City scored five straight to come within two, 15-13, at 9:34. F&M countered with a 6-1 run and took a 21-14 lead at 5:06 and the Gothic Knights came within four, but F&M closed out the half with a 7-1 spurt to go into the break a 29-19 lead. 

New Jersey City opened the second half with a full-court press, forcing multiple turnovers and went on a 10-0 run to come within two, 31-29, at 16:51. The teams traded buckets during the next five minutes, resulting in a 42-42 tie at 11:18. Matthew Tate and Federici stepped up with five and six points respectively in a 14-4 run that put the hosts up 56-46 with a little under seven minutes to play. 

The Gothic Knights threaten multiple times during the next four minutes of action, coming within four, 61-57, with 42 ticks on the clock. Forced to foul, New Jersey City sent Tate to the line twice, where the freshmen hit two-for-four shots to put the game out of reach. 

Cedric Moune finished with 11 points, nine boards, five blocks and two steals for the Diplomats while Morgan Lee netted 15 points. Moune landed on the All-Tournament Team and Lee was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Tate added seven and Jared Wright shot 2-of-2 from the floor for seven points. 

Neville Joseph led the Gothic Knights with 15 while Eddie Brown and Khalid Muhammad both finished with 11 points apiece. 

F&M returns to action on Tuesday when the Diplomats travel to Keystone for a 7:00 p.m. contest.