Diplomats Dodge Bullets
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Mike Baker's steal and ensuing conventional three-point play broke a 55-55 deadlock leading No. 15 Franklin & Marshall to a 70-62 victory over Gettysburg in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action Wednesday evening.  The game was a rematch of last year's CC Championship and marks the fourth straight time the Diplomats have defeated the Bullets.

Baker's buckets happened with 2:37 left in the game, giving F&M (6-1, 3-0 CC) a 58-55 advantage and starting a 10-2 run to put the game away. Christian Bors cut the lead to one with a layup at 2:20 and Brandon Beckford hit two from the stripe for a 60-57 F&M lead with 1:54 remaining.

Then Georgio Milligan took over. Milligan scored four straight points, picked up a steal, rebound and a block in a one-minute span, which led to an eight-point Diplomats' lead with 26 seconds remaining.  Two of those points came from line where Milligan is shooting 87.5% in the final two minutes this season.

Gettysburg (4-2, 2-2 CC) trailed 66-60 after a Alex Zurn tip-in, but Beckford went 1-for-2 at the line before Baker put the game away when he converted a lay-up off an inbound with 11 seconds to go.

The first half had five ties and seven lead changes as neither team held more than a four-point advantage. The Bullets went into the break with a 32-30 lead.

Four of the Diplomats' starters scored in double-figures with Milligan and Beckford posting 16 points apiece. James McNally dropped in 11 with six boards and Baker added ten points with seven boards and four steals.

McNally tied Brandon Smith '06 for fifth spot on F&M's all-time scoring list with 1,543.

F&M held a 33-26 advantage on the glass and forced 17 turnovers from the Bullets.

Franklin & Marshall returns to action on Saturday with a double-header against Haverford. The women tip off at 2:00 p.m. followed by the men at 4:00 p.m.


FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 70, GETTYSBURG 62
GETTYSBURG (4-3, 2-2 CC)
Andrew Powers 9-17 2-2 20; Stephen Poarch 5-12 2-2 13; Alex Zurn 5-10 2-4 12; Derek Brooks 2-2 2-2 6; Christian Bors 2-5 2-4 6; Kevin Kennedy 1-2 0-0 3; Ben Constable 1-1 0-0 2; Tim Lang 0-0 0-0 0; Brendan Trelease 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 10-14 62.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (6-1, 3-0 CC)
Georgio Milligan 5-13 4-6 16; Brandon Beckford 5-13 5-6 16; James McNally 5-13 1-2 11; Mike Baker 4-8 2-3 10; Steve Tolliver 2-4 3-4 7; Hayk Gyokchyan 3-5 0-0 6; Max Brewer 2-4 0-0 4; Jon Salandra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 15-21 70.

Gettysburg....................   32   30  -   62
Franklin & Marshall...........   30   40  -   70

3-point goals--Gettysburg 2-6 (Kevin Kennedy 1-1; Stephen Poarch 1-2; Alex Zurn 0-1; Andrew Powers 0-2), Franklin & Marshall 3-14 (Georgio Milligan 2-5; Brandon Beckford 1-7; Steve Tolliver 0-1; Max Brewer 0-1).

Fouled out--Gettysburg-Andrew Powers, Franklin & Marshall-None.

Rebounds--Gettysburg 26 (Alex Zurn 7), Franklin & Marshall 33 (Mike Baker 7).

Assists--Gettysburg 8 (Derek Brooks 3), Franklin & Marshall 13 (Georgio Milligan 7).

Total fouls--Gettysburg 17, Franklin & Marshall 13.

Technical fouls--Gettysburg-None, Franklin & Marshall-None. A-1271