Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall went 6-for-6 at the foul line inside the final 27 seconds and the 14th-ranked Diplomats defeated Gettysburg 60-53 in a Centennial Conference men's basketball game Wednesday evening in the Mayser Center.

Junior guard Derek Brooks posted 10 points and eight rebounds for the Bullets (9-13, 6-9 CC), who now trail Muhlenberg by two games for the fifth and final conference playoff spot with three games left in the season.

Senior guard Brendan Trelease also scored 10 points for Gettysburg while junior forward Alex Zurn registered nine points and five rebounds.

Georgio Milligan led F&M (20-2, 13-2 CC) with 13 points, including six in the final 1:02, to go with three blocks and three steals. Jon Salandra added 12 points and seven rebounds while Ed Early also notched a dozen points.

The Diplomats never trailed in the opening half and led by as much as nine (21-12) following a Matt Porter lay-up with 6:38 on the clock. But the Bullets kept within striking distance and trailed 26-20 at the intermission.

Gettysburg applied the defensive clamps in the second half and held F&M to just two points over the opening five minutes while cutting the deficit to one on a pair of Zurn free throws with 15:17 left. The Bullets took their only lead on a jumper from freshman guard Joe Emerusabe with 12:43 remaining, though they would tie it twice down the stretch.

A pair of free throws from freshman center Christian Healy made it a 42-42 game with 7:46 left, and senior forward Tim Lang made it 50-50 on a lay-up with 2:16 showing, capping a 6-0 Bullet run. But Salandra answered with a pair of free throws before Milligan extended the advantage with a steal and lay-up in the backcourt. After Gettysburg missed on a 3-pointer, Milligan added a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left to make it 56-50.

Trelease cut the lead in half with a trey from the right elbow four seconds later, but Milligan knocked down two more at the charity stripe to push his team's lead to five. The Bullets missed their last two 3-point attempts while Max Brewer set the final score with a pair of foul shots with nine ticks showing.

Gettysburg returns home on Saturday, when it takes on Washington College in Centennial Conference action at 2 p.m. on Senior Day.