|
LINCOLN, PA - Center Steve Juskin (Jr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) recorded 10 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the #18 nationally ranked Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball team to a 83-59 win over Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. The victory marked F&M's second of the 2002-03 season over Lincoln as Juskin blocked eight shots to power the Diplomats to a 91-60 win in the title game of the Rotary Tip-Off the New Year Tournament at home in the Mayser Center. At Lincoln, Franklin & Marshall trailed for 38 seconds as the Lions' Mike Kearse laid in a basket to take a 2-0 lead 1:41 into the game. The Diplomats answered at 17:41 as forward Frank Hughes (Sr., Annapolis, MD/US Naval Academy) put back a missed shot to tie the score and ignite an 11-4 run to hold an 11-6 lead following a three-pointer by point guard Duran Searles (Jr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) with 13:16 left in the first half F&M pushed the lead to 10 points over the next three minutes as Juskin hit back-to-back lay-ups and Searles connected on his second first half trey for a 20-10 lead with nine minutes left until intermission. The lead ballooned to 13 in the final minutes as Hughes added a pair of free-throws to cap an 11-point half and forward Bob Lynch (So., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) added five points in the final minute as the Diplomats carried a 40-27 lead into the locker room. In the second half, the game was all F&M as Lincoln never closed within 11 points of the Diplomats. Leading 45-34 with 15:46 left on the clock, Juskin hit a jumper and made two-of-two at the free-throw line to start a 30-5 run which pushed the lead to 66-37, a margin the Lions could not overcome to fall by 24. Overall, guard/forward Asaf Ganot (Sr., Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly) added three blocked shots, three steals and a game high six assists to lead the Diplomats on both ends of the court. For his career, Ganot now has 97 blocks, three short of joining Juskin and two-time All-America selection Chris Finch '92 as the only players in school history to record triple-digit rejections. Hughes chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, guard Brandon Jones (Jr., Philadelphia, PA/Germantown Friends) added 10 points and freshman guard Brandon Smith (Fr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) tallied 14 points and seven defensive boards in the win. With the win and a 59-42 win by Gettysburg over McDaniel, F&M remains in a tie with the Bullets for first place in the Centennial Conference West. In their last game, F&M overpowered the Bullets 63-52 in Lancaster. Franklin & Marshall (14-2, 3-1 Centennial Conference) will return to action on January 25 at Dickinson College in Centennial Conference play. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
|
