Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall escaped with a 77-75 victory over Haverford in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats improved to 11-6, 5-5 CC with the win, while the Fords fell to 7-10, 3-7 CC.

The Fords had early control of the game with a 9-6 lead four minutes in and extended their advantage to seven, 17-10, at 13:37. F&M answered when Zach Ravitz led F&M on a 13-1 run with seven points of his own to put the Diplomats out front 23-18 with 7:44 left in the first. Haverford countered with an 8-2 spurt and retook the lead, 26-25, but the Diplomats quickly answered and closed out the half with 12-3 run, including seven unanswered in final two minutes, for a 37-29 lead the break.

Matt Redhead had eight points in the opening frame, and Justin Kupa along with Ravitz chipped in seven for the Diplomats.

The second half started with a 9-2 spurt by the Fords to bring Haverford within two, 40-38, but F&M countered with five straight for a 45-38 advantage, before the Fords answered with 12-5 run and tied the game at 50-50 with 9:36 left to play. The Diplomats again responded with a 13-2 run and went out front 63-52 with a little under five minutes left in the game.

Haverford outscored F&M 15-7 over the next three minutes to make it a three-point game, 70-67, with 1:27 on the clock. The Fords stayed within two scores down the stretch, but Solomon Mathis hit 3-of-4 from the line in the final seconds to help secure the victory.

Justin Kupa led all scorers with 21 points, hitting 7-of-16 from the floor, while Solomon Mathis chipped in 15, hitting 5-of-7 from the field. Les Thomas had 13 and Zach Ravitz ended with seven points and nine rebounds.

The Diplomats return to action on Thursday when F&M travels to Johns Hopkins for an 8:00 p.m.