THE FACTS
Franklin & Marshall (5-0, 2-0 CC) 65, Gettysburg (4-2, 1-1 CC) 56
What: Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball game
When: Tuesday, Nov. 28
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.

THE SKINNY STORY
Franklin & Marshall held Gettysburg to just three points in the final four minutes of the game to turn a two-point deficit into a 65-56 win.

THE LEADERS
• Akim Joseph (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Notre Dame Fairfield [Conn.]) led the Bullets with 16 points and six rebounds.
• Ryan McKeon (Landenberg, Pa./Sanford [Del.]) chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds.

FOR THE FOES
• Vakaris Grauslys led the Diplomats with a game-high 24 points that included going 12-for-13 from the free-throw line to go with two assists and three steals.

THE REST OF THE STORY
• In a slow offensive start for both teams, Franklin & Marshall took a 9-4 lead with 14:10 to play in the opening half before Gettysburg countered with a 14-0 run – 12 of which came from Jordan Stafford (Galloway, N.J./St. Joseph Hammonton) and Carl Schaller (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) – to take an 18-9 lead nearly four minutes later. The Diplomats clawed back to a 22-all deadlock with 4:57 on the clock before the teams traded baskets down the stretch and an Omar Nichols 3-pointer in the near corner beat the first half buzzer to give the visitors a 33-30 advantage.
• Franklin & Marshall quickly extended the lead to six in the opening minute of the first half and opened up a 45-36 advantage on two Vakaris Grauslys free throws with 14:43 remaining. Trailing 47-41, Akim Joseph hit a driving layup and converted the ensuing free throw with 7:59 on the clock to spark a 7-0 burst over the next 95 seconds to go back in front by one. After the teams traded buckets, Grauslys converted both ends of a 1-and-1 to tie the game at 53-all with 3:26 showing. A Grauslys steal-and-layup with 2:32 remaining gave the Diplomats the lead for good. It swelled to 62-53 on a Nichols free throw with 51 ticks remaining en route to the nine-point final margin.

THE INSIDE STORY
• Jordan Stafford rounded out a trio of double-digit scorers for the Bullets with 14 points. He added six rebounds as well.

NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at Washington (Md.) on Saturday. Game time is 3 p.m.
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