Unbearable: Ursinus Uses Late Run to Down F&M 96-88 OT in CC Men's Basketball Championship Game

by Sports Information
3/1/03

COLLEGEVILLE, PA - Ursinus College guard Dennis Stanton drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc with three seconds remaining in regulation to force an overtime period in which the Bears outscored Franklin & Marshall College 13-5 to win the 2003 Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Championship by a 96-88 final in overtime.

Overall, Stanton made five-of-15 from the field with all of his baskets from beyond the arc, and added a 12-of-12 performance at the free-throw line for a Centennial Conference record 27 points to lead four Bears in double-figures.

CC Player of the Year Dan Luciano added 25, Steve Erfle tallied 18 and Mike McGarvey chipped in 12 as the Bears (21-6, 13-0 CC) won their first ever CC Men's Basketball Championship and their first championship in the sport since the 1946 season.

For the Diplomats (22-5, 10-3 CC) the loss is their second straight in the CC finals following a 50-47 loss to Gettysburg at home in the Maser Center on February 23, 2002. Franklin & Marshall will now await the announcement of the NCAA at-large bids on Sunday night, while Ursinus earned the Centennial Conference automatic bid and will advance to the NCAA Tournament.

For F&M, guard Jackiem Wright (Jr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) shot six-of-15, including four-of-11 from three-point range, and seven-of-seven at the foul-line for a team high 23 points to lead point guard Duran Searles (Jr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School), 14, and forward Bob Lynch (So., Richboro, PA/Council Rock), 11, in double figures.

In a game of high shot totals (124 combined) and fouls (60), the Bears made the most of 42 free throws by draining 37, while F&M made 21-of-27 at the charity stripe.

The Bears led in the early going of the game as Ursinus built a 25-11 lead 10:49 into the game as McGarvey converted a lay-up. But the Diplomats chipped away at the lead to tie the score at 35-35 with 1:12 remaining in the first half. However, a personal and technical foul on Dan Lynch (So., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) allowed the Bears' McGarvey and Erfle to convert two foul-shots apiece for a four point lead which F&M cut to two on a lay-up by Bob Lynch with 12 seconds remaining in the half.

In the second half, Ursinus outscored the Diplomats 11-5 to push the lead to 50-42 with 17:25 remaining in regulation, but F&M fought back with a pair of lay-ups by Bob Lynch and a free throw by Asaf Ganot (Sr., Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly) to cut the lead to three.

Erfle dropped in a lay-up for a 52-47 lead, but Wright scored the next eight points off a trey, lay-up and three foul shots to put F&M in front 55-52.

The points ignited the Diplomats' offense, which capped a 14-0 run as Searles converted a pair of foul shots and a jumper for a 61-52 lead with exactly 12 minutes to play.

Ahead 79-67 with 7:01 on the clock, the Diplomats lead began to dwindle as Luciano converted a lay-up and a foul shot, Erfle made a pair of free-throws and Bret Jenkins converted a pair of foul-shots to a 79-74 F&M lead with 4:01 on the clock.

Following five straight turnovers by Searles, Erfle, Steve Juskin (Jr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park), Stanton and Wright, Stanton made up for his mistake by stroking a trey off a feed by McGarvey with 2:43 on the clock to cut the Diplomats' lead to two at 79-77.

On their next possession, the Diplomats turned the ball over for the fourth consecutive time as Stanton attempted to tie the game with a lay-up which was blocked by Juskin into the hands of Ganot who was fouled by McGarvey and drained both foul-shots to grow the lead back to four at 81-77 with 1:48 to go.

However, on their next possession F&M turned the ball over again as Erfle recorded a steal and dished a pass to Stanton who arched in three-pointer for an 81-80 deficit with 54 seconds left on the clock.

Needing a bucket to go ahead by three, Ganot answered with a swooping lay-up with 13 seconds left on the clock. Ursinus brought the ball up the court and called timeout with nine seconds to go in order to set up a last chance play. With the clock winding down, Stanton rose up and drained an off-balance three-pointer with three seconds left on the clock to tie the score at 83-83.

F&M had one last chance to win the game in regulation as Searles launched a half-court shot which bounced straight up off the rim, but Ganot's tip-in attempt as the clock expired rolled around and off the left side of the rim to force overtime.

In the five minute overtime, the Bears set the pace scoring the first seven points off three-pointers by McGarvey and Stanton, while Luciano made one-of-two foul shots to build a 90-83 lead with 1:42 on the clock. F&M cut the lead to five off a lay-up by Brandon Smith (Fr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin), but Jenkins chipped in a pair of free throws to move the lead to 92-85 with 1:15 on the clock.

On their next possession, the Diplomats cut the lead back to four as Wright made the last of his four three-pointers in the game for a 92-88 deficit with 1:06 to go.

Following a timeout by Ursinus, the Diplomats had a chance to cut the lead to two or one as McGarvey lost control of the ball with 39 seconds to play, but Erfle swiped the ball away from Searles six seconds later to force Wright to foul Stanton who made both shots as the Bears finished the game with four foul-shots for the 96-88 overtime final.

The game was eerily similar to the regular season meeting between the two teams in Lancaster in which Ursinus rallied from a 17-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to win an 83-82 upset over the Diplomats.

In the only previous playoff meeting between the two teams, F&M routed Ursinus 70-56 in the 2002 CC semifinals at the Mayser Center on their way to the Centennial Conference title game and the ECAC South Region Championship.

Historically, Ursinus, which is ranked #1 in the Mid-Atlantic Region and unranked in the national poll, had defeated the Diplomats, #5 in the region and #20 in the nation, once prior at home in CC play when the Bears held off the Diplomats 89-82 during the 2000 regular season as F&M advanced to the Centennial Conference title and NCAA Final Four.

The game marks only the second time in Conference history that a CC title tilt has gone to overtime. In 2000, the Diplomats handled Johns Hopkins 75-67 in the Mayser Center on their way to the NCAA Final Four.

If the Diplomats do not receive a NCAA at-large bid, the team will await word from the Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region selection committee on Monday morning regarding a possible ECAC bid. Last year, the Diplomats received the #1 seed in the ECAC Tournament and dropped Lebanon Valley (71-59 W) on their way to an 82-65 rout of Kings College in the title game.