Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Logan Outerbridge led four players in double figures with 16 points as Franklin & Marshall jumped to an early 20-point lead and went on to defeat Gettysburg 73-61 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action on Tuesday.
Outerbridge knocked down three of his four 3-pointers in the game's opening eight minutes, helping the Diplomats (4-1, 2-0 CC) leap to a 23-3 advantage en route to their eighth straight win over the Bullets (2-2, 0-1 CC). Bryan Teschke and Adam Leonard added 14 points apiece in the win.
Todd Brady (Hancock, NH/ConVal) and Mike Spadafora (Richboro, PA/Archbishop Wood) scored a team-high 15 points apiece for Gettysburg, which rallied to within three points in the game's final four minutes before F&M pulled away. Matt Whelan (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield/Worcester Acad. [MA]) also reached double digits with 13 points.
Led by Outerbridge's marksmanship from 3-point range, Franklin & Marshall hit its first nine shots to take command. With the Diplomats ahead 6-3, Derek Hines converted a layup to start a 17-0 run over the next 4 minutes, 46 seconds that made it 23-3 with fewer than eight minutes gone in the game.
After starting 1-for-15 from the floor, the Bullets scored the next 10 points to cut the deficit to 23-13. Outerbridge's fourth 3-pointer made it 31-15 and F&M led by as many as 19 points when Joshua Fogg hit two free throws for a 36-17 lead.
The Diplomats maintained a comfortable edge at 56-42 with 10:54 remaining before Gettysburg started chipping away at the lead. A three-point play by Mike Beck (Clearwater, FL/Clearwater) cut the margin to 56-48 and four points from Brady keyed a 7-0 burst that pulled the Bullets within 62-59 with 3:42 remaining.
From there, however, F&M converted a number of key possessions to cement the win. Brandon Smith, the CC's leading scorer, hit a put-back to stall Gettysburg's momentum and the visitors converted 3 of 4 free throws before an Outerbridge jumper pushed the lead back to 69-59 with 1:49 left.
Beck answered with a layup in traffic to make it 69-61, but the Diplomats yielded no more points in the final 1:34.
Smith turned in another strong all-around performance, scoring nine points to go with 11 rebounds and six assists. Hines finished with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Brady added a team-high seven rebounds to his 15-point performance.
The Bullets return to action on Saturday at home against Haverford. Game time is 3 p.m.
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