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LANCASTER, PA - The Franklin & Marshall College men’s basketball team will return to the court following the holiday break in the 2003 Lancaster Rotary Tip-Off the New Year Basketball Tournament on Friday & Saturday, January 3 &4 at the Mayser Center. For the Diplomats (6-1, 1-0 Centennial Conference), the tournament will be the next step in the program's long history of success. One of the most successful intercollegiate basketball programs in Division III history with a 1,079-776 record, Franklin & Marshall is off to a 6-1 start following an 89-74 win over Hobart College at the Mayser Center on December 22. This week, F&M received 131 votes to remain ranked 20th in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Division III Men's Basketball Poll in the fourth poll for the 2002-03 season. The Diplomats are the only Centennial Conference team ranked among the Top 25 as Johns Hopkins University slipped one spot from #26 to #27. F&M, which has won six games since dropping their season opener by an 80-76 final versus Methodist College, is led by All-Conference center Steve Juskin (Jr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park). The program’s all-time leader in career blocked shots with 129 in 61 games, he tops the team in points (125) and blocks (21) through the first seven games of the 2002-03 season. Historically, Juskin now has 700 career points as he is on pace (17.9 ppg) to become the 26th in Diplomat history to record 1,000 career points. Another player to watch in the tournament will be senior forward Asaf Ganot (Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly). Ganot leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (.571), offensive rebounds (22), defensive rebounds (40), total rebounds (62), assists (29), assist-to-turnover ratio (29-8) and is tied for the lead in steals (11) with freshman Brandon Smith (Fr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin). Coming off the bench, Smith has been an offensive spark for the Diplomats as the first year guard is averaging 11.4 points per game to rank third on the team behind Juskin and junior guard Jackiem Wright (Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends). Under the basket, forwards Frank Hughes (Sr., Annapolis, MD/US Naval Academy) and Bob Lynch (So., Richboro, NJ/Council Rock) have been dominating forces for the Blue and White as the pair are averaging 7.7 and 9.0 points per game, respectively. In addition, Hughes is tied for second in blocked shots (7) with Ganot and ranks third in rebounding with 34, while Lynch ranks fifth in rebounding (30) in just 17.6 minutes per game. At guard, Wright and point guard Duran Searles (Jr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) should continue their offensive production as the duo is averaging 13.4 and 9.7 points per game. For Wright, the long-ball has been his weapon of choice as he is 21-for-44 from beyond the arch for a .477 shooting percentage from three-point range as 21 of his 33 field goals have been for three-points. Searles is second in assists (21) and third in steals (10) for the Diplomats as he has accumulated 658 points to remain on pace to score 1,000 points in his career at the College. Overall, the Diplomats will be looking for their 18th Rotary Championship and their 14th in the last 15 years. F&Ms' lone loss came in 1998 when Alvernia defeated the Diplomats 86-76. On Friday, following a first round game between Lincoln University and #35 nationally ranked St. John Fisher at 5:00 p.m. to tip-off the tournament, F&M will take to the floor at 7:00 p.m. versus St. Mary’s College of Maryland in the second game of the Rotary Tournament. The winners of the first round games will advance to the championship game scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, with the consolation game set for 6:00 p.m. St. Mary's is led by 6-10 forward Jonathan Neely as the senior is averaging 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game. To date, Neely's best contest was a 29 point and 12-rebound performance on November 30 versus Fisk College in an 80-74 loss. St. Mary's victory on the year came in a 68-64 win at home versus Salisbury University on December 1. Height will be a factor for the Diplomats in the opening round as the Seahawks will start two 6-10 players in Neely and sophomore center Evan Wallace. Offensively, Wallace has struggled averaging 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game, as St. Mary's is being outrebounded 243-200, including a 165-135 deficit on the defensive glass. Historically, F&M is 2-0 all-time against St. Mary’s, including an 83-76 win in the 2001 Rotary Tournament championship game. In the other first round game, St. John Fisher enters the Mayser Center with an unblemished record of 6-0 as the Cardinals have reeled off victories over Keuka (93-55), St. Lawrence (97-87 OT), SUNY-Brockport (74-68), Chowan (79-66), Salisbury (67-52) and SUNY-Fredonia (56-41). Leading the way for the Cardinals has been senior guard Aaron Berwanger who is averaging 15.5 points per game. In addition, sophomore guard/forward Jeff Sidney and junior forward Nick Ripple could take over a game as the pair is scoring 12.7 and 12.0 points per game, respectively. A key for the Cardinals will be the outside shooting of Berwanger and reserve guard Pat McGee. Berwanger, who is shooting 56.1 percent from the field (32-of-57), is knocking down 12-of-26 from beyond the arch (46.2 percent), while McGee 12 of McGee's 14 field goals have come from long range. Lincoln University, will be looking for their first ever Rotary Championship in seven attempts as the Lions' best performance was a runner-up finish in 1997 and 2000 with 90-66 and 92-79 losses to Franklin & Marshall, respectively. The tournament could be a reverse of the Diplomats' 2001 Rotary Championship when F&M knocked off Lincoln 88-57 in the first round, before pulling away from St. Mary's College of Maryland for the tournament title. Last year, F&M guard/forward Larry Fain scored 13 points and corralled 10 rebounds for his second double-double in as many days to earn Most Valuable Player honors as the then #2 nationally ranked Diplomats defeated #19 Clark University 73-63 to claim the 2002 Rotary championship. Fain averaged 14.5 points and 10 rebounds for the two-day tournament following a game high 10 rebounds and 16 points in a 67-59 win over Lincoln in the opening round. The 2003 Tip-Off the New Year Tournament is sponsored for the benefit of the Lancaster Community by the Rotary Club of Lancaster. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for students and children each night. D3 Hoops.com 2002-03 Division III Top 25 (Week 4 Poll)
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Record Pts.
1 Washington U. (23) 8-0 623
2 Rochester (2) 8-0 584
3 Randolph-Macon 7-0 562
4 Catholic 7-1 533
5 Hampden-Sydney 6-0 520
6 UW-Stevens Point 10-0 495
7 Carthage 6-1 457
8 Williams 6-0 434
9 UW-Oshkosh 9-1 421
10 Amherst 7-0 409
11 Hope 9-1 384
12 Hanover 10-0 298
13 Gustavus Adolphus 6-1 297
14 Whitworth 8-0 260
15 UW-Eau Claire 9-1 225
16 Wooster 9-1 201
17 Illinois Wesleyan 7-2 191
18 St. Thomas 5-2 165
19 Wartburg 5-2 139
20 Franklin & Marshall 6-1 131
21 Kalamazoo 8-1 108
22 UW-Whitewater 8-2 94
23 Capital 6-3 84
24 Ripon 6-0 78
25 Mary Washington 10-1 62 Others receiving votes: Babson 52; Johns Hopkins 49; Montclair State 43; Emory 33; Wheaton (IL) 32; Christopher Newport 24; Wittenberg 24; Mount Union 22; Shenandoah 16; St. John Fisher 15; Lewis & Clark 9; Linfield 9; Ramapo 9; Calvin 8; Clark 7; Rockford 7; John Carroll 2; Keene State 2; Maryville (TN) 2; Buena Vista 1
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