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LANCASTER, PA - The #11 nationally ranked Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball team will host the winner of #8 Hampden-Sydney (24-4) versus Elizabethtown (in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship playoffs on March 6 in the Mayser Center. F&M (24-3, 17-1 Centennial Conference), which clinched the 2004 Centennial Conference Championship with a 69-58 win over Johns Hopkins University in the Mayser Center, will look to advance to the Sectionals scheduled for March 12-13 at a site to be determined. Elizabethtown enters the tournament courtesy a 61-54 win at Widener to capture the Commonwealth Conference title. This season marks the third year in a row the Bluejays have advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The potential Lancaster-county matchup is intriguing as the Diplomats sole loss in Mayser during the 2004 season came at the hands of Elizabethtown on November 25 courtesy a 91-78 loss. The 2004 Commonwealth Conference Champions, Elizabethtown was led in the game by guard Kyle Conrad who drained five-of-nine from the field and eight-of-10 at the foul line for 21 second half points as he finished with a game high 35 to lead the Blue Jays to the win. Trailing 37-36 at halftime, Elizabethtown roared back to take the win as the Blue Jays made 25-of-29 second half free throw opportunities to the Diplomats' 15-of-19 performance at the charity stripe to outscore Franklin & Marshall College 55-41 in the second half. The victory marked Elizabethtown's first win over the Diplomats since January 18, 2001 when the Jays defeated F&M 71-63 at Elizabethtown. Last year, Franklin & Marshall knocked off the Jays 81-78 in double overtime as guard Duran Searles (Sr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) hit a three-pointer with five seconds left on the clock for the win. Historically, F&M is 34-12 all-time against the Bluejays since their first meeting in 1931. In NCAA competition, the Diplomats hold a 2-0 edge as Franklin & Marshall ended Etown's season in 1993 in the opening round (78-64 W) and 1979 in the sectionals (60-59 W at Albright). Further, in the 101-year history of basketball at F&M, the Hampden-Sydney Tigers and Diplomats have never met on the basketball court. The Tigers enter the tournament for the 12th time overall and eighth year in a row after securing the automatic bid by winning the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in a 75-69 victory over Virginia Wesleyan on February 23. Both Elizabethtown and Hampden-Sydney are coming off relative recent success in the NCAA Tournament as the Tigers are coming off their second Final Four in five years (2003, 1999), while the Jays advanced to the Final Four in 2002. The game time is set at 7:00 p.m. per NCAA Tournament guidelines. A date for tickets sales will be announced later this week. Tickets are $4 for adults and $3 for students and children. A complete NCAA Tournament bracket is available online at www.ncaasports.com or at D3hoops.com.
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