WESTMINSTER, Md. – McDaniel trailed by as many as eight points in the second half before rallying to top No. 10 Franklin & Marshall 59-58 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action on Saturday.
Cameron Royster (Derwood, Md./Magruder) recorded a career-best 17 points for the Green Terror (10-4, 5-3 CC), who knocked off a ranked team for the first time since 2011 and the No. 10 ranking for the Diplomats (14-1, 7-1 CC) matched the highest ranking of a team defeated by McDaniel.
Morgan Lee scored 15 points to pace Franklin & Marshall, which fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with the road loss.
In a game that featured six ties and 15 lead changes – 13 of which came after halftime – the Green Terror had the final say in a back-and-forth affair in which neither team led by more than three points over the final 12:24.
Trailing 56-53 on a Lee three-point play with 4:29 to play, Tim Stewart (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) hit a jumper just over a minute later to cut the deficit to one.
Royster finished at the rim for a 57-56 lead with 1:50 to play.
Out of a timeout with 26.5 seconds to play, Nic Martin (Hagerstown, Md./St. Maria Goretti) drove the lane and finished with 11.8 seconds on the clock to give the hosts a three-point edge.
After a foul on the perimeter with 5.0 seconds showing, Brandon Federici stepped to the line and sank both free throws to make it a one-point game.
McDaniel was fouled with 4.0 seconds left but missed the front end of the 1-and-1 before Cedric Moune corralled the rebound with 3.5 seconds showing.
Out of the timeout, the Wes Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) intercepted the long pass and held on as time expired to preserve the win.
Behind points from four different players, the Diplomats built a 10-0 lead in the game's first 3:18 before Royster got the Green Terror on the board with a three-point play a minute later.
Lee extended the lead as high as 11 at 14-3 with 13:57 showing before a Martin free throw and Duane Echols (Jessup, Md./Hammond) 3-pointer sparked a 14-2 run that gave the hosts a one-point lead nearly five mintues later.
The teams traded baskets en route to a 28-all deadlock at halftime.
Tied at 32-all just 1:28 into the second half, Franklin & Marshall reeled off eight straight points to take a 40-32 lead with 15:01 on the clock.
Trailing 44-37, Martin hit a layup with 12:45 remaining to ignite a 1-minute, 18-second stretch in which McDaniel ran off an 8-0 run.
A Martin 3-pointer gave the hosts a 50-48 advantage before the Diplomats countered with five straight points to take a 53-50 edge with 6:56 showing.
A Phillip Perry (Crownsville, Md./Annapolis Area Christian) three-point play evened the game with 6:19 to play before Lee's three-point play gave the visitors their final lead.
Stewart finished with 14 points and six rebounds while Martin added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Royster added three assists and three steals to his 17 points. Brooks finished with six points and season-best five steals.
McDaniel returns to action at home against Gettysburg on Wednesday. Game time is 8 p.m.
-30-