ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Five players scored in double-figures to lead Franklin & Marshall to an 87-65 victory over Elizabethtown in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon. F&M remains unbeaten this season at 6-0 while the Blue Jays fell to 1-5.
Head Coach Glenn Robinson picked up career win 876 and tied University of Kentucky coaching legend Adolph Rupp for the seventh spot on the NCAA All-Time Coaching Victory List.
The game was tightly contested in the early going of action as the teams traded buckets for the first few minutes with the Blue Jays holding onto a slight 9-8 edge five minutes into action. F&M went up for good on a tip in from Brandon Federici, but E-Town stayed close and came within three, 16-13, at 10:33, before the Diplomats answered with a 12-4 run over the next five minutes and took a 28-17 advantage at 4:59.
E-Town continued to battle and finished the first half off by outscoring F&M 14-6 to make it a three-point game, 34-31, at halftime.
F&M came out of the break strong and put together a 13-5 run and took a 47-36 lead at 14:40. E-Town responded and came within nine at 10:15, but the Diplomats countered with an 8-1 spurt and went up 61-45 with 9:16 left to play. The Blue Jays tried to mount a comeback, but were unsuccessful as the Diplomats maintained a double-digit advantage the remainder of the contest, leading by as many as 25.
Morgan Lee scored a game-high 24 points, as he shot 8-for-12 from the floor and finished with seven boards. Federici netted 20, hitting 7-of-8 from the line and Cedric Moune went 4-for-5 from the floor with 13 points and eight boards. Devin Figueroa chipped in 12 off the bench while Matthew Tate netted 10, shooting 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
Joe Bodnar led the way for E-Town with 19 points, Phil Wenger had 12 and Lee Eckert also reached double-figures for the hosts with 11 points.
F&M outshot E-Town 53-45 percent and held a slight, 35-32, edge on the glass.
The Diplomats resume Centennial Conference action on Tuesday when the F&M travels to Ursinus for a 6:00 p.m. contest.