Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Four Diplomats notched double-digit points to help Franklin & Marshall to a 67-53 victory over Dickinson in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action on Thursday evening. The Diplomats improved to 4-2, 1-1 CC while the Red Devils dropped to 1-5, 1-1 CC. 

Dickinson jumped out to an early lead, but back-to-back layups from J.C. McGrath and Matt Redhead evened the contest at 10-10 with 15:39 left in the half. Sparked by a Justin Peirce layup, F&M delivered a 17-3 over seven minutes of action to take a 29-16 lead at the 5:15 mark. The Red Devils recovered, coming within seven with just over three minutes left to play, but a Solomon Mathis jumper kept the deficit in double-digits going into the break. 

Redhead totaled 16 points in the frame, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-8 from the line while McGrath dominated the boards with six rebounds in the opening stanza. 

Two layups from McGrath less than two minutes into the second half increased F&M's advantage to 14. Dickinson started to chip away at the lead, but Justin Kupa notched three points in less than a minute to keep the score at 43-34 in the Diplomats' favor with 14:47 left on the clock. The Red Devils looked to take the momentum, coming within seven with 9:15 left, but back-to-back buckets from Ignas Slyka and Les Thomas sparked F&M on an 8-2 run over the next four minutes. The Diplomats kept the pace to finish out the game with a 67-53 win.

Redhead led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Kupa with 14. McGrath recorded his third-straight double-double with 11 points and 10 boards while Slyka led a staunch defensive charge, coming away with a career-high eight steals and tallying 10 points.

The Diplomats continue CC action at Swarthmore this Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. matchup against the Garnet.