With the win, F&M moves into a tie with Johns Hopkins for first in the Centennial Conference as the Diplomats, Bullets and Blue Jays all entered the night tied for first in the CC with identical 8-3 records.
Overall, the Bullets (11-8, 8-4 Centennial Conference) struggled from the field making 14-of-47 from the field (29.8%), including five-of-19 from beyond the arc (26.3%), as the Diplomats’ defense shut down the passing lanes and held Gettysburg without a field goal for long durations of game play.
Franklin & Marshall never trailed in the game as center Dan Lynch hit a lay-up 1:40 into the contest to put the Diplomats in front to stay. Forward Bryan Teschke added a lay-up and a tip-in and point guard Logan Outerbridge chipped in a pair of free-throws to give the Diplomats an 8-0 lead with 15:08 left in the first half.
The Bullets stormed back as David Glaser hit back-to-back buckets before Matt Whelan added a free throw to pull Gettysburg to within 8-5. However, Lynch hit a lay-up and a foul shot before forward/guard Brandon Smith drilled a three-pointer to push the lead out to 14-5 with 7:43 remaining until intermission.
Again the Bullets rallied as Erik Fromm made a pair of free throws before connecting on a lay-up and a foul to lead a 7-0 run to inch to within 14-12 with 5:01 showing on the game clock.
The Diplomats then took over as Franklin & Marshall engineered an 8-0 run capped off with a lay-up by guard Adam Leonard to give F&M a 22-12 lead with 3:08 left in the half before the Bullets pulled to within 27-20 prior to halftime.
Statistically, the first half did not live up to the pre game billing as the Diplomats entered the game shooting a Centennial Conference best 49.9% from the field, while Gettysburg was ranked second with a 49.2% average.
However, the Bullets hit five-of-18 from the field (27.8%) in the first half, including 0-for-eight from beyond the arc, while F&M connected on nine-of-28 (32.1%), including one-of-eight from long range, prior to entering the locker room.
Gettysburg appeared inspired out of the locker room as Kyle Jakobe drilled a three pointer 28 seconds into the half to shave F&M’s lead to 27-23 before Franklin & Marshall’s defense stiffened and offense ignited.
Outerbridge hit a jumper at 18:29, Wright drilled a three-pointer at 17:29, Lynch made a lay-up at 16:36 and a jumper at 15:41 and Outerbridge hit a three-pointer at 15:06 to account for a 12-0 run by
Franklin & Marshall to take a 39-23 lead. Gettysburg failed to respond to the run until the 12:37 mark as Ryan Page hit a three-pointer to slice the margin to 39-26 before Leonard split the Bullets’ defense for a driving lay-up at 12:10 to push the lead out to 41-26.
Franklin & Marshall continued to dominate the boards and paint as guard Brandon Chasen (Fr., Potomac, MD/Bullis) hit a free throw and Josh Fogg (Jr., Merrimacport, MA/Cushing) hit a turn around jumper for a 44-26 lead with 9:32 left on the clock.
David Glaser hit a three-pointer and Whelan collected a steal and a lay-up to cut the margin back to 44-31 at the 8:49 mark, but Smith drained a free throw and Wright swished a trey to take a 48-33 lead at 7:23.
The Bullets attempted to rally as Glaser and Todd Brady hit jumpers to pull to within 50-38 with 5:23 left, but Wright hit a three pointer to give F&M a 15-point lead.
Leading 56-44 with 2:47 left, F&M iced the win over the final two minutes as F&M made seven-of-eight at the charity stripe while holding the Bullets without a bucket for the 63-44 win.
The Diplomats dominated the second half making 10-of-19 from the floor (40.4%), four-of-eight from beyond the arc (31.3%) and 12-of-17 at the charity stripe (74.1%), while Gettysburg made nine-of-29 from the floor (31.0%), five-of-11 (45.5%) from long range and one-of-four (25.0%) at the free throw line.
Overall, Lynch finished the game with nine points and a game high eight rebounds, while Outerbridge added nine points and three assists. Smith tacked on eight points, four assists and seven defensive rebounds and Teschke added eight points, five rebounds and three blocked shots as eight different Diplomats scored.
For Gettysburg, Whelan and Brady finished with 10 points as Gettysburg fell to 2-11 in the Mayser Center since their last regular season victory in Lancaster in an 85-78 win on February 5, 1997.
Historically, the game continued a trend of F&M routs as the Diplomats shot down the Bullets 75-49 in last year’s Centennial Conference semifinals after holding off Gettysburg 74-72 during the regular season.
Further, the win gives F&M a sweep of the regular season home-and-home series against the Bullets as Franklin & Marshall defeated the Bullets 68-65 in Gettysburg on December 8
Franklin & Marshall (14-5, 9-3 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on February 5 in the Mayser Center versus Ursinus. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.