Leading 56-46 with 7:18 remaining on the game clock following a three-pointer by point guard Logan Outerbridge, the Diplomats (4-0, 3-0 Centennial Conference) saw their lead melt as Ryan Page swished a three-pointer at 6:28 and connected on a free-throw at 6:01 to ignite an 8-0 run as David Glaser added a pair of free-throws and a dunk to slice the margin to 56-54.
Wright drove to the basket for a lay-up to push the margin back to four before Glaser dropped in a three-pointer at 4:48 to cut the lead to a point at 58-57. Wright countered for F&M swishing a three-pointer at 4:31, but Mike Spadafora responded with a three 19 seconds later for a 61-60 Franklin & Marshall lead with 4:12 left on the game clock.
Gettysburg (2-4, 1-2 Centennial Conference) took the lead for the last time at 2:32 as Page banked in a three-pointer for a 63-61 Bullets’ lead, but Wright shook his defender and drilled a trey 17 seconds after Page to put the Diplomats back in front 64-63.
Wright made the first-of-two free-throw attempts at 1:52 to go in front by a pair before Danny Lynch made a free throw to put F&M in front 66-63 with 27 seconds left on the clock.
Gettysburg guard Kyle Jakobe attempted to tie the game with 16 seconds left, but his three-point attempt rolled off the rim where Erik Fromm collected the offensive rebound and put in a lay-up with eight seconds remaining on the clock to trim the Diplomats’ lead to 66-65.
F&M caught a break on the inbounds play as Jakobe fouled Wright prior to the ball coming into bounds as the F&M guard made both attempts at the free-throw line for a 68-65 lead. The Bullets attempted to inbound the ball and move up the court for a possible game-tying shot, but the F&M defense locked down and prevented Gettysburg from attempting a shot to hold on for the three-point victory.
Overall, Wright converted five-of-nine from the field, including two-of-six from beyond the arc, and made five-of-six at the charity stripe while pulling down three defensive rebounds, dishing out an assist and grabbing a steal in 34 minutes of play. In the second half, he hit three-of-four field goals with two three-pointers on three attempts as he dropped 13 second half points on the Bullets to key the win.
In addition, Outerbridge finished with 15 points on six-of-10 shooting from the field with a three-pointer, three rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes. He combined with Wright to overpower Gettysburg in the last frame as he scored 11 second half points as F&M outscored the Bullets 38-33 down the stretch to overcome a 32-30 halftime deficit.
In the first half, the two teams slugged back-and-forth as neither team led by more than two points. Down 30-28 with 57 seconds left on the clock, Outerbridge sliced through the Bullets’ defense and put in a lay-up to knot the game at 30-30. The game appeared headed to a tie at the break, but Spadafora hit a jumper with 00:00.01 left on the game clock as Gettysburg carried a two point lead into the locker-room.
The Bullets pushed the lead out to six points in the opening minutes of the second half as Glaser and Page hit lay-ups for a 36-30 lead with 18:38 left on the clock. Dan Lynch then took over the game hitting a jumper before popping a trey from the top of the key at 17:45 to cut Gettysburg’s lead to 36-35. Glaser added a pair of free throws to move the lead back to three points, but Outerbridge converted a lay-up at 17:07 to trim the margin back to a point.
Wright gave F&M back the lead as he made a pair of free-throws at 15:59 off a foul by Page to go ahead 39-38, but Glaser hit a lay-up to put Gettysburg in front 40-39 at 15:40. Outerbridge put the Diplomats ahead 41-40 with a pair of free throws before Fromm connected on a lay-up for a 42-41 Bullets’ lead at 15:17.
Outerbridge and Bob Lynch combined for a 6-0 run by the Diplomats as Outerbridge connected on jumpers at 14:59 and 13:42, while Lynch dropped a pair of free-throws at 14:07 to go in front 47-42.
Gettysburg cut the lead back to three points with a lay-up by Fromm, but Derek Hines lowered his shoulder and drove to the hoop for a lay-up at 10:49 to go back ahead by five. Page drained two free-throws to move to within three points, but Bryan Teschke hit a jumper before Brandon Smith made two-free throws and Outerbridge drained a trey to go ahead 56-46 and set up the climatic finale.
The key to the game was the Diplomats’ defensive pressure as F&M put up 15 points to the Bullets six off turnovers, including a 9-2 advantage in the second half. Further, Franklin & Marshall’s bench outscored their Gettysburg counterparts 10-6, including a 4-0 margin in the second half off buckets by Hines and Teschke.
Franklin & Marshall (4-0, 3-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on December 11 at home in the Mayser Center versus Lebanon Valley College. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.