Junior Clay Henson scored a game-high 20 points and set Guilford’s career three-pointers record (189) en route to Championship Series all-tournament recognition. The junior guard had 14 points by halftime and made six shots from long range, one better than the Guilford NCAA Tournament record he set in Friday’s 77-58 national semifinal loss to Washington University in St. Louis Friday night.
“We really wanted to win this game. This game meant a lot to us,” Guilford head coach Tom Palombo said. “Our guys were fired up today and played with a lot of energy. We really wanted it today and I thought we showed that out there on the court.”
Behind Henson’s four first-half three-pointers, Guilford opened a 42-33 halftime lead. A Rhett Bonner three-pointer created a 13-point edge before the Diplomats gradually whittled the deficit down to one with 8:13 left to play.
Senior Daniel Selig scored all nine of his points and blocked a shot in Franklin & Marshall’s 22-10 run over a 10-minute second-half stretch. The Diplomats forced five turnovers and held Guilford to three-of-11 field-goal shooting in that time. Two Selig free throws capped the rally and made the score 58-57.
Bonner’s three-pointer from the corner with 7:54 remaining kick-started the Quakers and opened a 61-57 lead. The teams traded possessions before Henson knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the game for a 69-61 Quakers’ lead with 4:54 left. Franklin & Marshall never drew closer than seven points in the final five minutes as it made only two-of-seven field goals against Guilford’s zone defense. The Quakers sealed their 13th win in 15 games by making all 10 free throws in the final three minutes.
After being held to 11 points and seven boards by Washington-St. Louis, Guilford junior Tyler Sanborn registered his 20th double-double of the season with 14 points, a game-high 17 caroms and four blocks.
“Every day you get to play college basketball is a great day,” Sanborn said. “(Today’s game) was a little bit more difficult than most games because of the disappointment last night, but we were still ready.”
Guilford senior George Neville added 17 points and seven boards in his last of his 117 college contests. Bonner finished with 15 points (10 in the second half) and six assists. The Quakers enjoyed a 47-30 rebounding edge, including 18 offensive boards that led to 14 second-chance points.
Sophomore James McNally led Franklin & Marshall with 18 points, eight boards and three steals. He represented the Diplomats on the Championship Series all-tournament team. Freshman Georgio Milligan added 15 points on seven-of-11 field-goal shooting, plus four assists. Sophomore Anthony Brooks rounded out the Diplomats’ double-figure scorers with 14 points. Franklin & Marshall played without starting swingman Clay Scovill, who missed the game with an ankle injury suffered in the Diplomats’ 62-58 setback to Richard Stockton College in Friday night’s second semifinal.
“I’m really proud of our team,” Franklin & Marshall coach Glenn Robinson said afterwards. “It was so difficult to have all of the emotion involved, coming here to play in a national championship, and play the kind of game we played against Stockton last night.”
Newspaper Box Score Guilford vs Franklin & Marshall 03/21/09 12:30 p.m. at Salem, VA - Salem Civic Center At Salem, VA - Salem Civic Center GUILFORD 79, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 67 GUILFORD (26-6) HENSON, Clay 7-19 0-0 20; NEVILLE, George 5-11 7-8 17; BONNER, Rhett 5-11 2-2 15; SANBORN, Tyler 5-12 4-7 14; ANDERSON, T.C. 2-3 2-2 6; LOWDER, Gabriel 1-2 3-4 5; HIGH, Eric 1-1 0-0 2; STAFFORD, Justin 0-0 0-0 0; CLOYD, Will 0-0 0-0 0; COONEY, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; MONROE, Brad 0-1 0-0 0; JACKSON, RJ 0-0 0-0 0; STANLEY, Mat 0-0 0-0 0; STEPHENSON, Martin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 18-23 79. FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (26-7) MCNALLY, James 9-19 0-0 18; MILLIGAN, Georgio 7-11 1-2 15; BROOKS, Anthony 5-10 3-4 14; SELIG, Daniel 2-5 5-5 9; SALVATI, Sal 2-7 0-1 5; TOLLIVER, Steve 2-5 0-1 4; BAKER, Mike 1-5 0-0 2; JOHNSON, Dontae 0-0 0-0 0; BALDERSTON, Dave 0-1 0-0 0; WHITTINGTON, Mac 0-0 0-0 0; SAVASTIO, Ty 0-0 0-0 0; MRAZ, Nick 0-0 0-2 0; HOERNER, Tim 0-0 0-0 0; HARRIS, Josh 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 9-15 67. Guilford...................... 42 37 - 79 Franklin & Marshall........... 33 34 - 67 3-point goals--Guilford 9-24 (HENSON, Clay 6-14; BONNER, Rhett 3-8; ANDERSON, T.C. 0-1; LOWDER, Gabriel 0-1), Franklin & Marshall 2-10 (BROOKS, Anthony 1-3; SALVATI, Sal 1-4; TOLLIVER, Steve 0-1; MILLIGAN, Georgio 0-1; MCNALLY, James 0-1). Fouled out--Guilford-None, Franklin & Marshall-BAKER, Mike. Rebounds--Guilford 47 (SANBORN, Tyler 17), Franklin & Marshall 30 (MCNALLY, James 8). Assists--Guilford 12 (BONNER, Rhett 6), Franklin & Marshall 12 (MILLIGAN, Georgio 4). Total fouls--Guilford 16, Franklin & Marshall 18. Technical fouls--Guilford-None, Franklin & Marshall-None. A-1893 NCAA Div III Men's Championship - Third-Place Game