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LANCASTER, PA -- The Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball team is ranked 12th in the nation and first in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the March 7 Lazindex.com Power Rankings. Ranked #15 last week, Franklin & Marshall (25-3, 17-1 Centennial Conference) is one of the most successful programs in the history of NCAA Division III basketball with a record of 1,123-791. Selected as a "Team to Watch" in the 2003-04 edition of Street & Smith's College Basketball, an annual dedicated to highlighting the upcoming college basketball season, the Diplomats captured the Centennial Conference Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Overall, the tournament berth marks the 19th in the history of men's basketball at the College as the team earned NCAA bids in 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986-1996, 1999 and 2000, including appearances in four Final Fours (1979, 1991, 1996, 2000). F&M, which knocked off Hampden-Sydney 78-76 on March 6 to advance to the tournament's "Sweet 16", will host the NCAA Sectionals on March 12-13 for the first time since 1996 when the Diplomats dropped RPI (74-58 W) and Wilkes (107-70 W) on their way to the NCAA Final Four. The Diplomats will begin the sectionals on Friday at 8:00 p.m. versus Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Champion and #18 nationally ranked Gwynedd-Mercy College (26-2). Against Hampden-Sydney in the second round, the Diplomats withstood a late run to hold on for the 78-76 win. Overall, guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) led the way for F&M with 18 points to lead all five F&M starters in double figures. Point guard Duran Searles (Sr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) chipped in 17 points, center Steve Juskin (Sr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) added 13, forward Brandon Smith (So., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) dropped in 12 and forward Bobby Lynch (Jr., Richboro, PA/Council Rock) notched 11 in the winning effort. The Griffins come to Lancaster following a 74-72 overtime victory at home over Catholic University in the NCAA second round. Trailing 60-57 with three seconds left in the game, Catholic forced overtime as Patrick Satalin drilled a three-pointer to tie the game. From there the Griffins converted on six-of-10 from the free-throw line and survived a late CUA bucket cutting the lead to two as Gwynedd-Mercy, playing in their first NCAA Tournament game, advanced to the Sweet 16 showdown with the Diplomats. For GMC, Badou Gaye totaled 21 points and teammate Jolon Davis added 10 points and 11 boards in the victory. Historically, the game will mark the first-ever meeting between F&M and Gwynedd Mercy in men's basketball. Further, it will mark the first of two possible meetings between the two squads as the Griffins agreed last month to attend the 2005 Lancaster Rotary Tip-Off the New Year Tournament in the Mayser Center on January 3-4, 2005. In the other sectional game, the Amherst Lord Jeffs (25-3) will clash with the New Jersey City Gothic Knights (22-6) at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The Knights advanced to the sectionals courtesy a 74-67 victory over Lycoming, while Amherst stopped Plymouth State 113-85 to make the "Sweet 16". On Saturday, the "Elite Eight" game is set for 7:00 p.m. with the winner advancing to Salem, Virginia and the NCAA "Final Four" for a shot at the 2004 National Championship on March 19-20. Historically, F&M has met both New Jersey City and Amherst in NCAA play in Mayser. In 1979, the Diplomats knocked off Jersey City 81-72 to advance to the first NCAA Final Four in program history. In 1993, F&M tacked on a regular season win over the Gothic Knights courtesy an 81-56 win in the Rotary Tip-Off the New Year Tournament title game as Franklin & Marshall holds a 2-0 record against Jersey City. In 1994, Amherst knocked off Franklin & Marshall 80-71 in Mayser in the only meeting between the two institutions in men's basketball. A complete NCAA Tournament bracket is available online at www.ncaasports.com or at D3hoops.com. A computer generated ranking based upon record, winning percentage, strength of schedule and margin of victory in Division III games, the Lazindex is available online at www.lazindex.com.
2004 Lazindex.com National Rankings (Through March 7)
1. UW-Stevens Point
2. Hanover
3. Lawrence
4. Rochester
5. Wooster
6. Williams
7. Illinois-Wesleyan
8. UW-Whitewater
9. Hampden-Sydney
10. John Carroll
11. Wheaton (IL)
12. Franklin & Marshall
13. Randolph-Macon
14. Maryville (TN)
15. Wittenberg
16. Trinity (TX)
17. Gustavus-Adolphus
18. UW-River Falls
19. Puget Sound
20. Otterbein
21. Ohio Northern
22. Amherst
23. Buena Vista
24. Sul Ross State
25. Gwynedd-Mercy 2004 Lazindex.com Regional Rankings (March 7)
1. Franklin & Marshall
2. Gwynedd Mercy
3. Catholic
4. DeSales
5. Elizabethtown
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