Franklin & Marshall Centennial Conference Championship Men's Basketball Game Notes

by Sports Information
2/28/03

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
#20 F&M (22-4) @ URSINUS (20-6) - Game 1,865 (1,095-779) - March 1, 2003 - 4 PM

PREVIOUS MEETING: The game will mark a rematch of a disappointing loss for Franklin & Marshall which fell in the only regular season meeting between the two teams as Ursinus rallied from a 17-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to win an 83-82 upset over the Diplomats. Leading 69-52 with 9:24 left on the clock, the Diplomats lead was cut to 72-64 as Ursinus used a 12-3 run behind three-point baskets by Dennis Stanton and Mike McGarvey to carve the lead eight with 6:34 left. Asaf Ganot (Sr., Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly) put back a missed shot to push the lead back to 10-points, but McGarvey answered with a three-pointer to make the score 74-67 with 5:52 on the clock. The Diplomats held a six point lead at 76-70 and the ball with 4:34 to go, but guard Brandon Smith (Jr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) was called for charging to turn the ball over leading to a lay-up by Steve Erfle to cut the F&M lead to four.
Point guard Duran Searles (Jr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) made the first of two free throws and Ganot added a jumper to put the lead at 79-72 at the 2:44 mark. Following two free-throws by Stanton and one-of-two by Searles for an 80-74 game, Erfle added a lay-up and Dan Luciano dunked to make the game 80-78 with 31 seconds left on the clock. Jackiem Wright (Jr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) made two-of-two at the line off a foul by Ted Piotrowicz to put F&M ahead by four, but Stanton launched a desperation three with 17 seconds on the clock, rebounded the ball and tossed up a shot which fell to cut the lead to 82-80. On the inbound play, Piotrowicz fouled Searles who missed both free-throws to give the Bears one last chance at pulling off their first victory in the Mayser Center since a 69-58 NCAA Regional win over the Diplomats. With three seconds on the clock, Jenkins lifted off at the three-point line and found the bottom of the basket for an 83-82 lead. The Diplomats rushed the ball down the court, but a game-winning three-point shot by Wright rimmed out at the buzzer for the one point Ursinus win. Luciano led all scorers with 22 points, while Erfle added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Bears improve to 3-0 in the Centennial Conference. For F&M, Wright shot five-of-nine from the field, four-of-seven from beyond the arch and six-of-seven at the free-throw line for 20 points. Searles added 13 points and Frank ughes (Sr., Annapolis, D/US Naval Academy) chipped in 17 as the Diplomats' starters scored 68-points, the highest percentage of scoring from the starting five all season. Juskin scored a season low four points, and Ganot shot six-of-nine from the field for 14 points, pulled down five rebounds and blocked five shots to key the Diplomats' defense. The key to the game was free throw shooting as the Diplomats shot 17-of-26 from the line, including 13-of-19 in the second half. In the game's final five minutes, F&M managed a four-of-eight performance, while Ursinus shot three-of-four to take the win. The victory marked Ursinus' first win in Lancaster since a 69-58 win in 1981.

TITLE HUNT: The CC Championship game will mark F&M's sixth appearance in the CC title tilt as the Diplomats claimed the Centennial Conference crown in 1994, 1996 and 2000. Overall, the Diplomats fell in the 1995 (88-86 loss at Muhlenberg) and 2002 (50-47 loss vs. Gettysburg) CC title games. For Ursinus, the Bears are 1-2 in CC playoff action and have never appeared in a Centennial Conference Championship game, leaving only Haverford and McDaniel as the only schools not to appear in the Conference's ultimate game. If Ursinus wins, it will mark the Bears first Conference Championship since 1946.

CC SERIES: Historically, the Bears are 2-9 against the Diplomats with one win in Lancaster (2003) and a 89-82 victory during the 2000 season, a year in which Franklin & Marshall advanced to the NCAA Final Four. The history of the Centennial Conference series:
Collegeville
Year (Winner/Score)
1995 (F&M/79-58)
1997 (F&M/86-64)
1998 (F&M/69-66)
2000 (Ursinus/89-82)
2002 (F&M/52-46)

Lancaster
Year (Winner/Score)
1994 (F&M/90-58)
1996 (F&M/68-57)
1999 (F&M/89-64)
2001 (F&M/80-61)
2002 (F&M/70-56*)
*CC Semifinals

A BEAR OF A RECORD: Ursinus became just the third team in Centennial Conference history to finish the regular season with a perfect 13-0 record. The previous two unbeatens? The 1994 and 1995 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. In 1994, the Diplomats advanced to win the CC title by a 63-61 final in Lancaster. However, in 1995 F&M lost 88-86 at Muhlenberg.

ROAD KILL: For Ursinus, home court may be more of a curse than help. The last two CC Championships have been won by the road team, a bad omen for a team that is 1-4 in Centennial Conference play against the Diplomats and 8-2 this year in the Helfferich Center. This year, Ursinus lost to Trinity College of Connecticut (85-80, 1/4/03) and Gwynedd Mercy College (81-78, 1/7/03) at home, while the Diplomats dropped games at Washington (96-86, 2/1/03) and Johns Hopkins (68-65, 2/22/03). History is also unkind to the Bears as only the 1995 Muhlenberg Mules have won a CC title in an odd-numbered year (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001) when the East has hosted. In 1997, Dickinson routed Swarthmore 90-59 on the Main Line. In 1999, Hopkins pounded Washington 78-52 in Chestertown, Maryland. Finally, Gettysburg dropkicked the Mules 68-59 in Allentown in 2001. For F&M, the road has been unkind in the CC playoffs, as the Diplomats are 0-2 with a pair of losses at Muhlenberg. In the 1995 title game, Muhlenberg held off F&M 88-86 for the second CC title and knocked off the Diplomats in overtime 90-80 in the 1998 semifinals on their way to the Conference crown.

HERE'S TO YOU MR. ROBNSON: On the Diplomats bench, F&M head coach Glenn Robinson will be looking for his 646th career victory against Washington as the veteran is now 645-230 in his career, 22 wins away from surpassing Dennie Bridges of Illinois Wesleyan (666) for second all-time in Division III victories.

WHEN LAST THEY MET IN THE PLAYOFFS: In a 70-56 2002 CC semifinal win, Franklin & Marshall opened a 10-0 lead in the first 2:57 of the first half to lead from wire to wire as the Diplomats knocked off Ursinus College 70-56 in the Centennial Conference behind a defensive gem Asaf Ganot. F&M, which won the opening tip, jumped out quickly on the Bears, as Duran Searles canned a three-pointer at 19:39 to put the Diplomats up for good. Cas Thomas '02 built upon the lead with four of F&M's next seven points as the Diplomats built a 10-0 lead before Ursinus tallied its first points off a pair of Steve Erfle free-throws. The Diplomats held the Bears without a field goal until the 13:51 mark when Dennis Stanton drained the first of six first half Ursinus three-pointers to cut the F&M lead to 15-5. Ursinus would get no closer than four points the rest of the way, as the Diplomats held off the Bears long range shots to hold a 33-27 lead at halftime. Ganot would do the rest for F&M as he tallied five points, corralled five rebounds and blocked four Ursinus shots to hold the Bears to a 7-of-32 shooting performance in the second half. Overall, Ganot would finish with a double-double, as he tallied 10 points and game highs in assists (seven) and rebounds (12). Searles added 10 points, while guard Jackiem Wright chipped in a team high 13 points. Wright would lead the Diplomats offense in the second half as he drained two-of-three from three-point range as F&M connected on four-of-six treys in the last 20 minutes, eight-of-21 for the game. Two-time All-American Alex Kraft '02 shot two-of-five from the field, one-of- three from beyond the arch, and five-of-six at the charity stripe for ten points as the Diplomats stifled the Bears offense with 12 blocked shots. In addition, F&M swiped nine steals while forcing the Bears into 19 turnovers. For Ursinus, Erfle finished with a game high 15 points off a four-of-eleven shooting performance. Dan Luciano added 14, and Dennis Stanton chipped in 11 to lead the Bears.

CC SEMIFINALS - F&M vs. WASHINGTON: Center Steve Juskin tied a school record with 10 blocked shots as the Diplomats erased the team record with 19 swats as Franklin & Marshall College opened the 2003 Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Playoffs with a 92-62 rout of Washington College in the Mayser Center. Juskin's total ties his own school record set on November 20, 2001 in an 83-80 win over Elizabethtown College. In that game, Juskin blocked 10 shots, scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Diplomats handled the eventual Division III title game runner-ups. Further, the team's mark of 19 blocks erased the previous school record of 16 also established against the Blue Jays. Overall, Duran Searles led the team in scoring with 15 points to lead four Diplomats in double-digits. Forward Frank Hughes and guard Brandon Smith both dropped in 13, and forward Bob Lynch added 14 points as the Diplomats shot 39-of-66 (59.1%) from the floor, including four-of-eight from three-point range. Tonight, the Diplomats (22-4, 10-3 CC) trailed early by a 5-2 tally following a three-pointer by Washington's Colin Camacho, but F&M rallied for an 8-5 lead before the Shoremen's David Horvath responded with a bucket to cut Franklin & Marshall College's lead to one with 15:34 remaining in the first half. However, the Diplomats responded with a 13-0 run over the next five minutes for a 21-7 lead, as Washington never cut the lead beyond six for the remainder of the game. The Shoremen were stagnant in the first half shooting 27.8 percent (10-of-36) from the floor as the Diplomats used six blocked shot performances from Juskin and guard Asaf Ganot as F&M swatted 13 first half shots. Searles added a block and a team high 10 first half points. Leading 28-22 with 6:03 remaining until halftime the Diplomats engineered another 13 point run as Searles arched in a three-pointer to ignite the F&M offense for a 41-22 lead on their way to a 45-27 lead at intermission. The lead never moved within 10 points in the second half as Hughes hit a basket 2:02 into the half, but Camacho drained a three for a 47-30 F&M lead. Again, the Diplomats responded to the Shoremen with a 7-0 run led by five points from guard Jackiem Wright to push the lead to 14. Leading by as many as 35-points in the second half, the Diplomats coasted to the victory. For Washington, Horvath shot six-of-19 and three-of-10 from beyond the arc for 15 points to lead four Shoremen in double figures. John Alexander added 12, Camacho tallied 11 and Dustin Abbate chipped in 10 as the Shoremen conclude their season 10-16, 6-7 in Centennial Conference play. The key to the game versus the Shoremen was defense as the Diplomats held the Shoremen to a 29.2 shooting percentage (10-of-36) for the game, a dramatic change from the 50.8 percentage (31-of-61) F&M allowed Washington in a 96-86 loss in Chestertown, Maryland on February 1. In that game, Washington drained 10-of-26 from the three-point arc and 24-of-35 at the foul line as the Shoremen carried a 10-point lead into halftime to take the double-digit victory. In the rematch, F&M befuddled the Shoremen shooters with stingy defense as Washington made only nine-of-32 from beyond the arc as the team was forced to play catch-up from the opening 10 minutes of the game. In addition, F&M committed 13 personal fouls and allowed 11-of-16 at the free-throw line, half of the 26 foul total the Diplomats permitted in the first meeting between the two schools. For Juskin, the game was a career defining contest as the 6-6 center, who was named with Ganot to the All-Centennial Conference first team, raised his career numbers to 202 blocks, 980 points and 512 rebounds as he is on pace to become the ninth player in F&M men's basketball history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. In addition, he raised his school single season blocked shot record to 94, 35 more than his previous F&M record of 59 established last season.

CC SEMIFINALS - URSINUS vs. JOHNS HOPKINS: Ursinus guard Dennis Stanton scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Bears over Johns Hopkins, 78-62, in the Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Semifinals Wednesday night at Helfferich Hall. After the teams battled to a 29-29 halftime tie, Ursinus opened the second half with a 15-3 run, taking a 44-32 lead on a three-point play by Stanton with 14:41 remaining. The Bears twice increased their lead to 13, the second time at 52-39 on a jumper by Steve Erfle with 10:59 to play, before Hopkins made a run. JHU senior guard Brendan Kamm began the spurt with a jumper, and after he hit two free throws, Kamm buried a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to 52-46 at the 9:56 mark. Freshman guard Frank Mason hit two foul shots to make it a four-point game, and after Stanton answered with a three-pointer, senior forward Steve Adams and Mason hit consecutive lay-ups to cut the Ursinus advantage to 55-52 with 8:02 left. That would be as close as the Blue Jays would get, as Stanton hit another three-pointer to put the Bears up 58-52 with 7:45 to play. Hopkins twice cut its deficit to five, the second time at 60-55 at the 5:35 mark on a lay-up by senior center Mike Blaine, but Ursinus pulled away down the stretch.
Mike McGarvey scored 18 points, dished out a team-high four assists, and recorded a game-best five steals for the Bears, while Erfle recorded a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Conference player of the year Dan Luciano also posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Adams led Hopkins with 15 points, while junior guard Kevin Marquez finished with 12. The Blue Jays, who were out-rebounded 47-31, tied a school record by attempting 31 three-pointers. Hopkins made just six shots from behind the arc, including 1-of-15 in the second half. Hopkins, which lost for the first time in five Centennial Conference semifinal games, stayed with Ursinus early. The Blue Jays trailed 14-12 at the 10:59 mark before going on a 10-2 run, sparked by two three-pointers from sophomore forward Eric Toback, to take a 22-16 lead with 5:41 left in the half. Hopkins again led by six at 27-21 with 2:43 to play after a three-pointer by Marquez, but Ursinus closed the period on an 8-2 run, including three foul shots in the final four seconds, to tie the game at the break.

IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Franklin & Marshall College is ranked among the nation's best Division III teams in the February 24 NCAA Men's Basketball statistics for games through February 23. Franklin & Marshall is ranked in scoring defense (63.2, 24th), scoring margin (19.0 ppg, fourth), field goal percentage (49.2, 17th), field goal percentage defense (39.8, 27th), three-point field goal percentage (40.8, 10th), rebound margin (8.3 rpg, 14th) and winning percentage (84.0, 17th). Individually, center Steve Juskin (Jr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) rates eighth in the NCAA with 3.4 blocked shots per game, while guard Jackiem Wright (Jr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) is 17th in three-point field goal percentage with an average of 45.1 percent through the Diplomats 25 regular season games.

JUSKIN-TIME: On Wednesday, F&M center Steve Juskin tied a school record with 10 blocked shots as the Diplomats erased the team blocks record with 19 swats in a 92-62 rout of Washington College in the Mayser Center. Juskin's total tied his own school record set on November 20, 2001 in an 83-80 win over Elizabethtown College. In that game, Juskin blocked 10 shots, scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Diplomats handled the eventual Division III title game runner-ups. Further, the team's mark of 19 blocks erased the previous school record of 16 also established against the Blue Jays.

ALL-CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE: LANCASTER, PA - Centennial Conference Western Division Champions Franklin & Marshall College placed four players on the All-Centennial Conference men's basketball team announced today. Guard Asaf Ganot (Sr., Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly) and center Steve Juskin (Jr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) earned first team honors, while guards Duran Searles (Jr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) and Jackiem Wright (Jr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) earned second team honors as the Diplomats recorded the most players among the ten Conference schools. The total ties the F&M record for number of All-CC honorees set in 1995 when the College received three first team and one second team mention. Ganot and Juskin's recognition on the first team marks the fourth time F&M has placed two players on the first team and the first time since 1996 when Mike Mehaffey and Jeremiah Henry earned the honor. The Diplomats also placed two players on the first team in 1995 (Charlie Detz' 95, Dave Jannetta '95 & Mehaffey) and 1994 (Detz & Jannetta). A two time honoree following a second team nod in 2002, Juskin leads the Diplomats in scoring (15.6 per game) as the 6-6 center also tops F&M in blocked shots with 94, 35 more than his previous school record of 59 established in 2002. He leads F&M in double-doubles with five, as he scored 15+ points 15 times and pulled down 10+ boards six times, including a season best 28 points at Washington (2/1/03) and 12 rebounds at Lincoln (1/23/03). He was named the CC Player of the Week on January 13 and earned a spot on the Conference Honor Roll on five other occasions throughout the year. In addition, he earned honors on the January 14 ECAC Honor Roll and was one of five players selected for the January 13 D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week. The Diplomats defensive "stopper", Ganot has been a force on both ends of the court leading F&M in assists (104), steals (46), rebounds (209), defensive boards (142) and offensive boards (67) while averaging 8.6 points per game. In the Centennial Conference, he is among the leaders in rebounding, field goal percentage, assists, steals, blocked shots, assist/turnover ratio, offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds per game. He led the Diplomats in rebounding 14 times this season, including a season high 14 boards in a 82-78 double-overtime victory at 2002 National Championship game runner-up Elizabethtown College on November 26. A member of the January 20 Centennial Conference Honor Roll, Ganot has 478 points, 439 rebounds, 146 steals and 206 assists in his career while ranking second all-time at the College with 114 blocked shots. As a freshman in 2000, he helped lead the team to the 2000 Centennial Conference Championship and the NCAA Final Four. A second year transfer from Division I LaSalle University, Wright leads the CC in free throw percentage (.902). The only F&M player to register 30 or more points this season, Wright recorded point totals of 34 (vs. Lincoln, 1/4/03) and 30 (vs. Muhlenberg, 12/7/02) for the 24th and 25th 30+ point games in F&M men's basketball history and the first since Searles scored 33 versus Elizabethtown on November 18, 2000. Wright is second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and field goals (113) and first in three-pointers made (75) and attempted (165). In only 55 career games in an F&M uniform, he ranks ninth in career three-point baskets with 114, six away from passing two-time All-America selection Alex Kraft '02 for eighth place on the all-time list. He was named the CC Player of the Week on December 9 and February 18 and garnered spots on the January 6 Conference and December 10 ECAC Honor Rolls. At point guard, Searles has directed the Diplomats offense to an average of 82.6 points per game, the best average in the CC this year. Individually, Searles is one of three Diplomats scoring in double-digits as he has made 88-of-180 field goal attempts and 59-of-75 from the line for 275 points, an average of 10.6 marks per game. For his career, Searles ranks fourth in three-point field goals with 135, four away from passing Jerome Maiatico '00 for third on the all-time list, and 12th in assists with 235, five away from passing Kevin DiCello ' 94 for 11th and 11 short of passing Allen Taylor '83 for 10th.

THE WEST IS BEST: The Centennial Conference Western Division has won the last four CC titles as Gettysburg (2001, 2002), F&M (2000) and Johns Hopkins (1999) have earned hardware over the period. Overall, the East has won just two CC titles as the Mules of Muhlenberg picked up the trophy in 1995 (88-86 over F&M in Allentown) and 1998 (55-53 over Johns Hopkins in Baltimore). Overall, this year marked F&M's fifth straight division title (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003) and their eighth (1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) since the Conference was founded to tie Muhlenberg College's record of eight division titles as the Mules claimed the East in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.

ONE-ON-ONE: The 2003 CC title matchup marks the third and final time in the Conference's 10-year history that the #1 seeds from both divisions will meet for the Conference title. In the first time it occurred, Muhlenberg knocked off F&M 88-86 in the 1995 final at home. In the second occurrence, Muhlenberg stunned Hopkins 55-53 in the 1998 final in Baltimore. Next year, all ten CC schools will be combined into one division as the Conference will go to an 18 game double-round robin schedule. The Bears will visit Lancaster on January 10, while the Diplomats will travel to Collegeville on February 7. The playoff format for next year remains the same with the top four teams out of the newly combined division making the tournament.

BATTLE OF THE POLLS: The game also marks a battle of the polls as D3Hoops.com ranks the Diplomats #20 in the nation, but the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Poll lists the Diplomats at #5 in the region. Ursinus is #1 in the region, followed by Catholic, DeSales, Mary Washington, F&M and Scranton.