Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg trimmed a 19-point deficit down to six in the game's final minutes, but No. 15 Franklin & Marshall pulled away late and defeated the Bullets 76-58 in a Centennial Conference match-up Thursday evening in Bream Gymnasium.

The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed due to snow.

Despite the loss, the Bullets (11-10, 9-6 CC) remain tied with Ursinus College for third place in the Centennial Conference due to Haverford's 78-69 win over Ursinus on Thursday. Franklin & Marshall (19-3, 13-2 CC) now leads Muhlenberg by three games for first place in the conference standings.

Junior forward James McNally led the Diplomats with a double-double, posting 24 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Georgio Milligan added 16 points and five assists and scored eight straight points after the Bullets pulled to within six. Junior forward Mike Baker added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Gettysburg was led by junior center Andrew Powers (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown), who scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and tied a career-high with four steals. Freshman forward Alex Zurn (Brookeville, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting while junior forward Kevin Kennedy (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) contributed eight points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Brendan Hager (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) tied a career-high with eight assists.

F&M enjoyed its 19-point advantage after a pair of Baker free throws made it 47-28 with 16:29 left. It was a 60-47 ballgame after two more Baker freebies with 6:30 to go when the Bullets put together a 9-2 run to get back into it. Kennedy sparked the rally with a three-pointer, and Powers capped the surge with a lay-up that made it 62-56 with 4:24 on the clock.

Baker nailed a baseline jumper following an F&M timeout, but Zurn answered for the Bullets, knocking down a pull-up jumper from the foul line to bring the Bullets back to within six (64-58). But it would turn out to be Gettysburg's final points, as the Diplomats closed the game on a 12-0 run.

Milligan sealed the win for F&M, converting three straight driving lay-ups and converting a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays. His third bucket and ensuing free throw made it 72-58 with 1:11 left, and he followed up with a block at the other end of the floor. McNally scored the Dips last four points to set the final score.

Franklin & Marshall jumped to a 34-21 halftime lead, holding the Bullets to 25.9 percent shooting in the opening period. Gettysburg missed on its first 11 field-goal attempts, but F&M also struggled offensively in the early going, and the scoreboard read 10-8 with 9:59 to go after a Zurn jumper. However, that's when F&M used a 9-2 run to push its advantage to nine, and a McNally jumper with 6:17 to go gave the Diplomats their first double-digit lead (23-12) of the night.

After F&M pushed its advantage to 13, the Bullets pulled to within seven on a Powers lay-in with 2:39 to go before the Dips scored the final six points of the half.

Franklin & Marshall shot 59.2 percent for the game and attempted only five three-pointers, making three. The Bullets rebounded to shoot 60.0 percent in the second half and finished at 42.3 percent for the game. Gettysburg made just 3-of-16 three-pointers and shot 64.7 percent (11-for-17) at the foul line.

The Bullets return to the court on Saturday, when they visit Muhlenberg College at 2 p.m. in a Centennial Conference affair.