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LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall College center Steve Juskin (Sr., East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) and point guard Duran Searles (Sr., Camden, NJ/Peddie School) has been named to the 2004 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Men's Basketball All-Middle Atlantic Region Team. D3hoops.com All-Middle Atlantic Region selections, the duo marked the only pair of players from a school selected to the D3hoops.com and NABC All-Region teams. In addition, the pair both earned All-Centennial Conference first team honors earlier this year as Searles and Juskin's recognition on the first team marked the fifth time overall and second straight time F&M has placed two players on the first team. Last season, Juskin and guard/forward Asaf Ganot '03 garnered first team honors as the Diplomats recorded two first-teamers for 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 three time All-CC honoree following a second team nod in 2002 and first team honors last year, Juskin tallied 426 points, 187 rebounds, 105 assists and a school and Centennial Conference record 114 blocked shots this year as he earned D3hoops.com All-America second team honors. A 2004 Street & Smith's Division III Preseason All-America Honorable Mention selection, and a 2003 D3hoops.com All-Mid Atlantic first team selection, he is the ninth player in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Further, he concludes his career among F&M's best as he ranks among the all-time leaders in points (sixth - 1,444 points), rebounds (fourth - 727) and blocked shots (first - 330) while appearing in 114 and starting 111 games. The February 2 Centennial Conference Player of the Week and the ninth player in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, he holds the Centennial Conference record in blocked shots as his total is 119 swats more than the total of runner-up Cam Scribner '03 of Haverford (211). At point guard, Searles sparked the Diplomats ranking first in assists (106) and tying with teammate Brandon Smith (So., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) for the lead in steals (58) while tying with Juskin for second scoring with an average of 14.2 points per game. The February 23 Centennial Conference Player of the Week, the 6-1 guard averaged 33.0 points on 69.4% from the floor in victories over McDaniel (86-49 W) and Washington (96-78 W) during the regular season. Against Washington, he connected on 13-of-21 field goal attempts, including two-of-four from beyond the arc, and eight-of-14 at the free-throw line for a career high 36 points while handing out seven assists. For Searles, the performance marked his second straight 30-point performance as he connected on 12-of-14 field goal attempts and four-of-four at the free throw line for a game high 30 points while handing out seven assists in an 86-49 victory over McDaniel on February 18. The back-to-back 30 point games marked the third time an F&M player has achieved the feat. Most recently, Jerome Maiatico '00 dropped 42 in an 89-87 loss to RPI on January 9, 1998 at the Greyhound Classic hosted by Moravian College. In the consolation game, Maiatico returned to the court to register 34 points versus Dickinson in a 93-89 loss. The first Diplomat to achieve the feat was F&M Hall of Fame member Gus Lovett '54 who scored 34 on December 12, 1953 at the University of Virginia in a 94-70 loss. In the Diplomats' next game he tallied another 34 points in a 97-68 rout of Ursinus College in Lancaster on December 15, 1953. Prior to Searles' 30 point performance against McDaniel, the last Diplomat to hit for 30-points was Wright who dropped 34 versus Lincoln on January 4, 2002 in the Rotary Tournament title game at Mayser and tallied 30 on December 7, 2002 in a 93-70 rout of Muhlenberg College at Mayser. Historically, Searles became the first Diplomat to score 30 or more points on the road since Alex Kraft dropped in 33 in an 81-73 win at Dickinson while leading Franklin & Marshall to the 2000 Final Four. Overall, the tally marked the third 30-point game of Searles career as the senior guard netted 33 points on November 18, 2000 to lead his team to a 95-87 victory over Elizabethtown at the Mayser Center in the Sponaugle Tournament Championship game. Historically, Searles has been among the Centennial Conference's most prolific scorers as he has combined with Juskin as the duo rank third all-time in scoring with a combined 2,764 points. A four year starter, Searles ranks among F&M's all-time best in scoring (10th - 1,320), assists (sixth - 358), steals (seventh - 197), three-point field goals (second -202) and three-point field goal percentage (sixth - 40.3%) while appearing in 114 and starting 105 games. In the history of the Centennial Conference, he ranks third in three-point field goals, fifth in assists and is tied with Dickinson's Billy Hagan '03 for the Conference record in steals with 197. Overall, the senior trio of Searles, Juskin and guard Jackiem Wright (Sr., Sicklerville, NJ/Moorestown Friends) made history as they join the Classes of 1989 (Phil Hoeker, Brad Markey, Brian Menet), 1992 (Will Lasky, Mark Maggionacalda, Chris Finch) and 1995 (Mike Sievert, Charlie Detz, Dave Jannetta) as only the fourth class to have three 1,000 point scorers. In addition they become the second highest scoring trio in school history with 3,783 combined points, 330 more than the trio of Detz, Jannetta and Sievert (3,453 points), and 410 less than the school record trio of Lasky, Maggioncalda and Finch (4,193 points). Ranked #9 in the latest Lazindex.com and D3hoops.com polls, the Diplomats captured the Centennial Conference Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they advanced to the NCAA "Elite Eight" Overall, the tournament berth marked 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 in the round of 32, defeated Gwynedd Mercy (92-72 W) in the "Sweet 16", but fell to Amherst 82-70 in the "Elite Eight" to conclude the season among the top eight teams in the nation. For F&M, which concluded the year with the 19th 20-win season under head coach Glenn Robinson (674-235), the team's 26-4 record marked the program's best mark and highest winning percentage (.867) since the 1996 team concluded the year 29-3 (.906) in the NCAA "Final Four". 2004 NABC All-Middle Atlantic Region Team
First Team
Dennis Stanton (Ursinus)
Badou Gaye (Gwynedd-Mercy)
JD Byers (Lebanon Valley)
Jim Zinn (DeSales)
Will Morley (Catholic)
Ray Strickland (Alvernia) Second Team
Steve Juskin (Franklin & Marshall)
Duran Searles (Franklin & Marshall)
Anthony Fitzgerald (Villa Julie)
Brian Horgan (Kings)
Terron Buchanon (Albright)
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