LANCASTER, Pa. – Washington connected on all four free throws attempts in the final six seconds to earn a 78-74 victory over No. 7 Franklin & Marshall in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped F&M's 14-game winning streak and the Diplomats fell to 14-1 (7-1 CC).
Hayk Gyokchyan erased a four-point deficit with two straight buckets to tie the game at 70 with 3:16 remaining in the contest. The teams traded baskets over the next 36 seconds, to keep it deadlocked at 72 at 2:40, before Matt Porter blocked Tony Hawkins as F&M looked to pull ahead. F&M took the ball down the court, but was unable to convert on three attempts inside the paint. The Shoremen (9-6, 5-3 CC) collected the rebound and Kevin Breslin's layup gave Washington at 74-72 lead with 1:06 left in the game.
Gyokchyan hit a layup with 40 seconds remaining to tie the game 74 before Georgio Milligan swiped the ball from Hawkins and was immediately fouled, sending the senior to line for two shots. Milligan missed both and Washington came away with the ball with 20 seconds left to play. The Shoremen setup for the last shot as Kevin Cunningham drove down the lane with six seconds remaining and was fouled on the way. Cunningham sank both of his shots before the Diplomats threw the ball away on the inbound pass, setting up the Shoremen's final two shots from the stripe.
The game was a battle from the first jump with 17 ties and 10 lead changes as neither team took more than a six-point lead. Both teams traded points early in the opening stanza before F&M went up five points, 20-15, at 7:50. The lead was quickly erased with a 7-2 run by the Shoremen to give Washington a 22-2 edge at 3:31. F&M again went up five points, 30-25, with 39 seconds remaining in the half, but Mark DeBoy hit a trey 13 seconds later to send the game into the break with F&M leading 30-28.
Matt Porter put F&M up with six points in the first minutes of the second half, but Washington answered with a 9-2 run to up 39-38. The Shoremen extended their lead to five points before F&M countered with a 7-0 run to take a 51-49 edge at 11:43. Neither team took more than four-point lead the remainder of the half, setting up the final three minutes of action.
Milligan scored a game-high 19 points and dished out six assists. Gyokchyan finished with his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 boards while Jon Salandra and Porter both finished with 10 apiece.
Breslin led the way for Washington with 18 points and Hawkins finished with 14.
F&M returns to action on Wednesday when the Diplomats host Dickinson at 8:00 p.m.
WASHINGTON COLLEGE 78, No. 7 FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 74
WASHINGTON COLLEGE (9-6, 5-3 CC)
Kevin Breslin 5-10 6-6 18; Tony Hawkins 4-7 4-4 14; Sal Schittino 3-6 0-0 9; Chris Olsen 4-6 1-2 9; Charlie McShane 1-3 4-5 6; Mark DeBoy 2-4 0-0 6; Kevin Cunningham 1-7 3-6 5; Mark Henry 2-2 1-2 5; Adam Naymick 1-2 2-2 4; Max Finch 1-3 0-0 2; John Weston 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 21-27 78.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (14-1, 7-1 CC)
Georgio Milligan 7-18 4-7 19; Hayk Gyokchyan 4-10 6-8 14; Jon Salandra 3-8 4-6 10; Matt Porter 5-7 0-0 10; Austin Alecxih 3-5 0-0 7; Morgan Lee 3-5 0-0 6; Ed Early 1-2 2-2 4; Brandon Beckford 1-3 1-3 3; Kevin Henry 0-0 1-2 1; Max Brewer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 18-28 74.
Washington College............ 28 50 - 78
Franklin & Marshall........... 30 44 - 74
3-point goals--Washington College 9-13 (Sal Schittino 3-5; Tony Hawkins 2-2; Mark DeBoy 2-3; Kevin Breslin 2-2; Charlie McShane 0-1), Franklin & Marshall 2-5 (Georgio Milligan 1-2; Austin Alecxih 1-1; Matt Porter 0-1; Hayk Gyokchyan 0-1).
Fouled out--Washington College-None, Franklin & Marshall-Jon Salandra.
Rebounds--Washington College 30 (Max Finch 4), Franklin & Marshall 38 (Hayk Gyokchyan 10).
Assists--Washington College 10 (Kevin Breslin 3), Franklin & Marshall 10 (Georgio Milligan 6).
Total fouls--Washington College 21, Franklin & Marshall 18.
Technical fouls--Washington College-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.
A-1327