GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Matthew Tate and Brandon Federici combined for 40 points to lead Franklin & Marshall to a 68-53 win over Gettysburg in Centennial Conference (CC) action Tuesday evening. The Diplomats improved to 4-0, 1-0 CC, while the Bullets dropped to 1-2, 0-1 CC.

A pair of threes from Tate and Federici put F&M out front 6-0 early in the game. Gettysburg responded with an 8-2 spurt and tied the game at 8-8 with 14:44 on the clock. F&M went up 14-12 on three free throws from Federici, before the Bullets netted five straight and took a 17-14 lead. The Diplomats countered with an 11-2 run to retake the lead 25-19, at 7:39 and went into the break with a slight 31-28 lead. 

The Bullets hit two triples to start the second and went up 34-33. A layup from Ignas Slyka jump started an 8-0 run that put the Diplomats out front for good. Another layup from Slyka put F&M up 10 as the Diplomats started to pull away. F&M went up 14, 57-43, on a Tate layup at 7:03 and held a double-digit lead the remainder of the game.

Matthew Tate led all players with 22 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the floor, and finished with five steals. Brandon Federici had 18 points and seven boards and Matt Groll ended with nine while Ignas Slyka netted eight.

F&M had a 35-29 edge on the boards and outshot the Bullets 47-37-percent.

The Diplomats return to action on Sunday, when F&M hosts Lebanon Valley at 3:00 p.m.