LANCASTER, Pa. – Hayk Gyokchyan turned in career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 17 Franklin to a 69-63 over Neumann in the first round of the Lancaster Rotary F&M Tip-Off Tournament Friday night.
The Diplomats (1-0) will face Oneonta, a 78-58 winner over Kean, in the championship game Saturday evening at 8 p.m. Neumann (1-1) will take on Kean at 4p.m. in the consolation game.
The game was a battle from start with eight lead changes and eight ties throughout the forty minutes of action. Neither team took more than a seven–point lead and no lead remained in tack for any significant amount of time.
F&M found itself in a 45-39 hole with 13:14 remaining in the game. The Diplomats slowly chipped away and went on a 12-6 run that spanned nearly six minutes tie the game at 51 with 7:15 left in the game. Gyokchyan contributed eight points in the run.
Georgio Milligan hit two from the stripe to put F&M up two at 6:36, before Branden Harrington drained a three to give the Knights a 54-53 edge at 6:15. Milligan hit the back end of a one-and-one to tie the game and Gyokchyan drained two from line seconds later to give F&M the lead, 56-54, for good.
Neumann pulled with in a point, 60-59, but Milligan hit a trey to give F&M a four-point, 63-59, edge with 2:27 remaining the game. The Knights got within two again with 44 seconds, but Gyokchyan and Milligan closed the game with a layup and two free throws. The pair scored 26 of F&M's final 30 points.
Milligan finished with 21 points, shooting 12-for-15 from the line. The senior pulled down eight boards, dished out six assists and collected four steals. Jon Salandra contributed eight points off bench with five rebounds.
Gerald Bryant scored a team-high 14 points for the Knights. Mark Blount and Rich Whitten had 13 and 10 points respectively.
F&M held a commanding 55-27 edge on the glass, with 15 on the offensive side, resulting in 15 second-chance points.
No. 17 FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 69, NEUMANN 63
NEUMANN (1-1)
Bryant, Gerald 3-9 6-6 14; Blount, Mark 5-9 3-7 13; Whitten, Rich 3-10 1-1 10; O'Connor, Patrick 2-11 4-8 8; Harrington, Branden 3-5 0-0 7; Coleman, Reggie 1-4 2-2 4; Slade, Bill 1-2 1-2 4; Walukiewicz, Mike 1-7 0-0 3; Bowmen, Eric 0-1 0-0 0; Warhola, Steve 0-2 0-0 0; Gibson, Dom 0-3 0-0 0; Clark, Terrance 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-66 17-26 63.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (1-0)
Hayk Gyokchyan 11-17 4-4 26; Georgio Milligan 4-12 12-15 21; Jon Salandra 2-3 4-5 8; Brandon Beckford 1-6 3-6 5; Max Brewer 2-4 0-0 4; Matt Porter 0-4 3-4 3; Dave Balderston 1-1 0-0 2; Morgan Lee 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Henry 0-4 0-0 0; Ed Early 0-0 0-0 0; Xavier Braham 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 26-34 69.
Neumann 30 33 63
Franklin & Marshall 32 37 69
3-point goals--Neumann 8-27 (Whitten, Rich 3-5; Bryant, Gerald 2-6; Harrington, Branden 1-2; Walukiewicz, Mike 1-5; Slade, Bill 1-2; Gibson, Dom 0-2; Clark, Terrance 0-2; Coleman, Reggie 0-1; O'Connor, Patrick 0-2), Franklin & Marshall 1-7 (Georgio Milligan 1-1; Brandon Beckford 0-1; Max Brewer 0-2; Matt Porter 0-1; Xavier Braham 0-1; Hayk Gyokchyan 0-1).
Fouled out--Neumann-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.
Rebounds--Neumann 27 (Blount, Mark 6), Franklin & Marshall 55 (Hayk Gyokchyan 14).
Assists--Neumann 7 (Walukiewicz, Mike 2; Gibson, Dom 2), Franklin & Marshall 13 (Georgio Milligan 6). Total fouls--Neumann 26, Franklin & Marshall 21.
Technical fouls--Neumann-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.
A-1623