LANCASTER, Pa. - Franklin & Marshall used a 15-0 run nearly after the opening tip to race out to an early lead and never look back in a 77-55 victory over FDU-Florham in the William Marshall Tip-Off Tournament on Friday evening. The Diplomats (1-1) took an eight point lead into halftime, then exploded in the second half for the 22 point victory over the Devils (1-1). The Diplomats dominated in the paint, outrebounding the Devils 43-25 and pounded it down low to the tune of 50 points in the paint. It was a well-balanced effort, as five F&M players hit double-figures.

With the win, the Diplomats advanced to the championship of the tournament to face Lancaster Bible, who narrowly defeated Baruch 78-76 in the opening game.

The Diplomats scored the opening bucket on a Solomon Mathis jumper, gave up a layup on the next possession, then ran off 15 unanswered over the next 7:29. It was a well balanced attack, as six different Diplomats got in on the action during the run for a 17-2 lead. The Devils cut the lead to 19-8 with 10:10 remaining in the half, but a Mathis triple followed by a Travis Cumber reverse layup pushed the lead back to 24-8 with 8:40 left. FDU-Florham took a timeout and refocused, running off 13 of the next 17 points to claw back within seven with 5:10 left. Back-to-back Riiny Giir layups pushed the lead back to a dozen with 1:09 left, but a quick four-point spurt by the Devils shrunk the halftime lead to just eight at 36-28.

A 6-2 run after the break closed the Devils to within three, but that is as close as the visitors got. A 14-2 spurt by the Diplomats crushed any comeback hopes, as the F&M bigs went to work with John Seidman, Riiny Giir, and Mark Suchy combining for nine points over the stretch. A pair of free throws followed by a dagger three pointer by Omar Nichols cemented a 15 point advantage with 13:44 left. The teams exchanged buckets towards the end of the half, with the Diplomat lead surging to 22 with 1:56 remaining on back-to-back layups by Seidman.

F&M outshot FDU-Florham 49.2%-38.8% from the field. The Diplomats held a massive edge in attempts (65-49), thanks in large part to their rebounding edge (43-25) over the Devils. F&M also held a massive advantage in points off turnovers (24-6), second chance points (14-3), and and points in the paint (50-13).

Solomon Mathis led the way with 16 points on 7-13 shooting, filling up the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Riiny Giir added 15 points off the bench on 7-9 shooting. John Seidman added 14, including 10 in a second-half run, while Omar Nichols contributed 11, and Mark Suchy added 10.