Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – No. 1 Swarthmore defeated Franklin & Marshall 85-68 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats fell to 8-13, 4-10 CC, while the Garnet remained undefeated with a 21-0, 14-0 CC mark. 

Six points in the early minutes put Swarthmore ahead 6-0, before back-to-back threes from Bo Williams and Ignas Slyka tied the game at 6-6 at 15:10. A 7-2 spurt by the Garnet made it 13-8, but the Diplomats answered by outscoring Swarthmore 6-3 to come within two, 16-14, with a little less than 10 minutes remaining.

Swarthmore put together a 13-5 run over the next three minutes for a 10-point lead, 29-19, at 6:47. Buckets by Solomon Mathis, Williams and Jaka Pandza brought F&M within five, 31-26, but the Garnet closed out the half by outscoring F&M 11-7 and took a 42-33 lead into the break.

The Diplomats outscored Swarthmore 7-2 during the first two minutes of the second to cut the deficit to four, 44-40, at 17:57. A tip-in by Matt Redhead at 13:24 brought F&M within five, 50-45, but Garnet went on a 10-4 run over four minutes and went ahead 60-49.

F&M stayed within striking distance and a Mathis jumper at 5:44 made it 68-62, before the Garnet hit another level and outscored the Diplomats 17-6 the remainder of the game to secure the win.

Solomon Mathis led the Diplomats with 21 points, hitting 8-of-16 from the floor and Justin Kupa netted 19. Brian Hines ended with a double-double as he chipped in 10 points and pulled down 10 boards.

Swarthmore had a slight edge in shots (52%-46%), and held a 35-27 advantage on the glass.

The Diplomats return to action on Wednesday when F&M hosts Dickinson at 8:00 p.m.