LANCASTER, Pa. – Four players scored in double-figures as No. 14 Franklin & Marshall defeated Ursinus 70-52 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action. The victory is the seventh in a row over the Bears for F&M as the Diplomats improved to 6-0, 2-0 CC.
The game was battle for the first 14 minutes as neither team took more than a six-point lead. F&M never trailed, but the Bears (2-6, 0-2 CC) kept pace and tied the game at 14 with 6:56 remaining the first half. Brandon Beckford and Jon Salandraboth scored four points in a 13-1 run that put the Diplomats up 27-15 going into the break.
Beckford started the run with a layup at 6:25 and Georgio Milligan gave F&M a 19-14 lead with a trey at 5:24. Two consecutive fast-break points by Salandra and Beckford put the Diplomats up 23-15 at 3:13. Salandra hit another bucket at 2:21 and Ed Early finished the run off with a layup at 1:03 to give F&M the 12-point halftime edge.
F&M's run continued in the second half with six unanswered points to take a 33-18 lead just three minutes into the second. The Diplomats never looked back and led by as much as 24 points, while never trailing by more than 11 points the remainder of the contest.
Matt Porter and Salandra both had career nights. Salandra scored 14 points on 60% shooting while Porter shot 5-for-7 for 10 points. Milligan scored in double-figures for the sixth time this season and reached the 20-point plateau for the third time with a game-high 21 points.
Beckford equaled a season-high with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting and added three steals. Early knocked in five with six boards and two blocks.
Jon Ward scored a team-high 19 points for the Bears.
The Diplomats shot 56% from the floor while their defense limited the Bears to just 33%.
F&M returns to action on Saturday when the Diplomats host McDaniel in CC double-header at 4 p.m.
No. 14 FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 70, URSINUS 52
URSINUS (1-6, 0-2 CC)
Jon Ward 6-10 7-8 19; Pat Vasturia 2-9 2-2 8; Jesse Krasna 2-6 4-6 8; Matt Donahue 1-4 5-6 7; Phil Walker 3-8 0-0 6; JJ Rapczynski 1-1 0-0 2; Jermaine Kamara 1-4 0-2 2; Kevin Janowski 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Marciano 0-0 0-0 0; Scott Niewiadomski 0-0 0-0 0; Lou Meindl 0-0 0-0 0; Trey Harry 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 16-48 18-24 52.
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (6-0, 2-0 CC)
Georgio Milligan 7-10 5-7 21; Brandon Beckford 6-8 2-3 14; Jon Salandra 6-10 1-2 13; Matt Porter 5-7 0-1 10; Ed Early 2-2 1-2 5; Hayk Gyokchyan 1-5 2-2 4; Brett McCormick 1-2 1-2 3; Morgan Lee 0-0 0-0 0; Dave Balderston 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Henry 0-0 0-0 0; Max Brewer 0-3 0-0 0; Ty Savastio 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Mraz 0-0 0-0 0;Terrel Phelps 0-0 0-0 0; Xavier Braham 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-50 12-19 70.
Ursinus....................... 15 37 - 52
Franklin & Marshall........... 27 43 - 70
3-point goals--Ursinus 2-11 (Pat Vasturia 2-6; Jesse Krasna 0-2; Matt Donahue 0-3), Franklin & Marshall 2-8 (Georgio Milligan 2-3; Brandon Beckford 0-1; Max Brewer 0-2; Xavier Braham 0-2).
Fouled out Ursinus-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.
Rebounds--Ursinus 30 (Jermaine Kamara 6), Franklin & Marshall 31 (Ed Early 6).
Assists- Ursinus 7 (Jesse Krasna 5), Franklin & Marshall 12 (Georgio Milligan 4).
Total fouls--Ursinus 20, Franklin & Marshall 19.
Technical fouls- Ursinus-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.
A-1023