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LANCASTER, PA - Point guard Duran Searles (So., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) shot five-of-eight from the field for a game high 15 points as the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats improved to 10-0 on the season with a 66-47 victory over Salisbury University in the Mayser Center. F&M, which trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, would rally behind Searles to run out to a 32-24 lead at the half. The sophomore guard connected on three-of-five field goal attempts, including two-of-three from beyond the arc, for eight points in the first half. Overall, the last 20 minutes of the game would belong to center Steve Juskin (So., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) as he drained four-of-10 attempts from the field and two of three at the foul line for 10 points while pulling down five rebounds as the 6-0 sophomore is averaging 8.3 boards and 15.7 points per game. Seniors Cas Thomas (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) and Alex Kraft (Lansdale, PA/Lansdale Catholic) chipped in eight and 14 points, respectively, as the Diplomats rattled off a 15-2 run in the opening eight minutes of the second half to build a lead which the Seagulls could not overcome. Kraft, who inched closer to the all-time scoring record of 1,695 points held by Donnie Marsh '79, raised his career total to 1,399 points, one short of becoming only the fifth F&M player in school history to record 1,400 points. The total keeps Kraft in fifth place all-time at the College in scoring, as he supplanted the previous fifth place performance of Dennis Westley '81 (1,357) with 20 against Muhlenberg in a 66-63 win and 13 against Albright in a 100-68 victory on Monday. Further, he moved within 101 points of joining Jeremiah Henry '96 (1,502 points), Will Lasky '92 (1,608), Terry Scott '88 (1,663) and Marsh as the only players to score 1,500 points. For Salisbury, Doug King was the only player in double-digits as he tallied 15 points, while Clement Sorgho added nine. Statistically, the Diplomats dominated the game holding the Seagulls to 16 field goals and a .308 (16-for-52) field goal percentage. In addition, Salisbury's 47 points marked the second straight game in which the Diplomats held an opponent under 50 points as F&M limited Western Maryland to 47 points on Wednesday in a 75-47 victory. The total in both contests marks the fewest points allowed by F&M since their contest a 9-0-48 victory on January 31, 2001 against Western Maryland in Lancaster. The historic win marks F&M's tenth victory of the season (10-0, 2-0 Centennial Conference) as the 2001-02 edition of the Diplomats have jumped out to the best start in program history since a 19-0 run to open the 1995-96 season. In 1995-96, F&M rolled out to a 12-0 Conference record on their way to an appearance in the NCAA Division III Final Four. However, Muhlenberg College would break up the perfect season on February 7 with a 66-49 win in Allentown to break up a 42 game Conference winning streak which dated back to January 23, 1993 versus Lebanon Valley College. Historically, F&M's best all-time start is held by the 1994-95 Diplomats who jumped out to a 25-0 start to open the year to mark the most consecutive victories ever by an F&M basketball squad. Further, the win marks the 30th anniversary of F&M head coach Glenn Robinson's first collegiate coaching victory the Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team, then known as either the Diplomats or Big Blue, and sporting a 0-2 record downed Western Maryland College 80-51 on December 7, 1971. Robinson, the active wins leader among Division III men's basketball coaches, is now 609-221 over thirty seasons. Franklin & Marshall will look for their eleventh win of the season on Thursday, January 3 when they return to the court at the Mayser Center versus Lincoln University in the second game at 7:00 p.m. of the 2002 Lancaster Rotary Tip-Off the New Year Tournament. In the first game, nationally ranked Clark University will face Frostburg State at 5:00 p.m. Call 717-291-3838 or 717-291-4102 for more information.
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