ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Georgio Milligan drained two free throws with six seconds remaining to give No. 15 Franklin & Marshall a 64-63 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripts in the first round of the Lopata Classic hosted by Washington University.

The Diplomats (5-1) held a comfortable nine point, 62-53, advantage with just under five minutes left in the contest before the Stags (2-2) mounted a comeback. Claremont went on a 10-0 run to take a one-point, 63-62, lead after Remy Pinson drained a trey with six seconds remaining. The Stags were forced to foul on the ensuing possession, sending Milligan to the line.  

After Milligan's clutch free throws, Claremont had an opportunity for the game-winning shot. Tyler Gaffaney attempted a three-pointer with two seconds left, but it missed and James McNally collected the rebound to secure the victory.

Milligan finished with 15 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and 5-for-11 from the stripe.

F&M started off slow, trailing 6-0 two minutes into the contest.  The Diplomats took their first lead, 8-7, at 15:06 after stringing together an 8-1 run.  F&M scored seven unanswered points to lead 15-7 at 13:08. The teams traded baskets the remainder of the first half, as F&M went into the break leading 37-32.

The Diplomats opened the second half on a 13-6 run to take an 11-point edge with 14:24 remaining in the game.  The Stags cut the deficit to 52-47 mid-way through the stanza.  F&M put together a five-minute 10-6 run to take 62-53 lead before the Stags mounted their comeback.

McNally finished with a game-high 19 points and a team-high eight boards. Brandon Beckford picked up 13 points and five assists while Hayk Gyokchyan contributed nine points off the bench.

Patrick Lacey led the way for Claremont with 12 points. Joseph Anderson and Pinson both finished with 10.

The Diplomats return to action tomorrow when they take on Tsinghua University (China) in the second round of the Lopata Classic.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 64, CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIP 63 CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIP (2-2)
Patrick Lacey 4-9 4-6 12; Remy Pinson 3-4 2-2 10; Joseph Anderson 5-6 0-0 10; Cody Mivshek 2-6 4-5 8; Tyler Gaffaney 1-7 4-5 6; Kevin Sullivan 2-6 0-0 4; Patrick Donnelly 1-2 2-2 4; Beau Heidrich 1-2 0-0 3; Cameron Cain 1-1 0-0 2; Shane Davis 1-3 0-0 2; Greyson Blue 1-2 0-0 2; Sean Duncan 0-0 0-0 0; Alex Smith 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 16-20 63.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (5-1)
James McNally 7-14 5-8 19; Georgio Milligan 5-8 5-11 15; Brandon Beckford 5-7 0-0 13; Hayk Gyokchyan 2-2 5-6 9; Steve Tolliver 2-7 0-0 4; Dave Balderston 1-1 0-0 2; Mike Baker 1-5 0-1 2; Max Brewer 0-2 0-0 0; Jon Salandra 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 15-26 64.

Claremont-Mudd-Scrip..........   32   31  -   63
Franklin & Marshall...........   37   27  -   64

3-point goals--Claremont-Mudd-Scrip 3-13 (Remy Pinson 2-3; Beau Heidrich 1-2; Cody Mivshek 0-1; Tyler Gaffaney 0-4; Kevin Sullivan 0-1; Alex Smith 0-2), Franklin & Marshall 3-8 (Brandon Beckford 3-4; Steve Tolliver 0-2; Max Brewer 0-2).

Fouled out--Claremont-Mudd-Scrip-Joseph Anderson, Franklin & Marshall-None.

Rebounds--Claremont-Mudd-Scrip 29 (Patrick Lacey 9), Franklin & Marshall 32 (James McNally 8).

Assists--Claremont-Mudd-Scrip 11 (Remy Pinson 3), Franklin & Marshall 17 (Brandon Beckford 5; Georgio Milligan 5).

Total fouls--Claremont-Mudd-Scrip 22, Franklin & Marshall 18.

Technical fouls--Claremont-Mudd-Scrip-None, Franklin & Marshall-Mike Baker.

A-175