1st Round (at Ursinus): #5 Muhlenberg d. #4 Ursinus, 84-69
Semifinal (at Franklin & Marshall): #2 Gettysburg d. #3 Washington College, 91-78
Semifinal (at Franklin & Marshall): #1 Franklin & Marshall d. #5 Muhlenberg, 97-72
Final (at Franklin & Marshall): #1 Franklin & Marshall d. #2 Gettysburg, 66-62

LANCASTER, Pa. -- Often overshadowed by his teammates, Franklin & Marshall's understated center Mike Baker was cast into the limelight with 3.7 seconds remaining in the Centennial Conference (CC) championship game. The Diplomats big man finally put Gettysburg away at the line, after F&M failed to convert on five trips to the stripe inside of the final two minutes.

Baker missed the front end with the Diplomats in double bonus. His second shot made it a two-possession game, 66-62, sealing Franklin & Marshall's fifth CC title and 16th conference championship in the program's vaunted history.

The tight finish was necessitated by a furious comeback attempt by Gettysburg.

Baker finished with his third double-double of the season scoring 11 points and collecting 14 boards.

F&M held a 15-point lead with 12:24 remaining before Gettysburg came alive. The Bullets went on an Andrew Powers led 20-4 run to take a one-point lead at 5:47. Powers scored 11 points of his game-high 28 in the run. The Diplomats responded with an 8-2 run of their own to lead by five with just over a minute remaining.

The teams traded two shots each from the stripe and Kevin Kennedy's layup with 14 seconds left put Gettysburg within three. Powers missed a trey eight seconds later and Baker came away with the board and was immediately fouled, setting up his game-clinching foul shot.

The game started out as a defensive battle with only 25 points going on board midway through the opening stanza. Anthony Brooks' jumper at 6:41 gave F&M a 20-15 lead.  The Diplomats finished the half strong on 16-6 run to take a 36-21 edge into the break.

In addition to Baker, three other players scored in double-figures for F&M. Brooks scored a team-high 16 points shooting 70% from the floor. James McNally and Georgio Milligan scored 13 points each. Baker and McNally posted three blocks apiece as the Diplomats finished with nine blocks in the game.

Kennedy scored 12 points for the Bullets. Alex Zurn and Brendan Hager dropped in seven and six points respectively.

The game marked the fourth time the Diplomats and Bullets have played for a CC trophy with each team winning two apiece. Coach Glenn Robinson ties Lou Henson for the 15th spot on the all-time NCAA victory list with the win, with 779 in his career.

F&M will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Committee will make its selection of teams for the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship tonight.

The announcement will be presented via webcast on www.NCAA.com beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time Monday. The bracket will also be posted on www.NCAA.com at approximately 10:30 a.m.

 

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 66, GETTYSBURG 62

GETTYSBURG (15-11)

Andrew Powers 11-23 5-6 28; Kevin Kennedy 5-14 0-0 12; Alex Zurn 3-5 1-2 7; Brendan Hager 2-5 0-0 6; Brendan Trelease 2-5 0-0 5; Tim Lang 2-4 0-0 4; Chip Naddaff 0-0 0-0 0; Andrew Bohan 0-3 0-0 0; Christian Bors 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 6-8 62.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (23-4)

Anthony Brooks 7-10 1-4 16; Georgio Milligan 3-8 7-11 13; James McNally 6-13 1-2 13; Mike Baker 5-10 1-2 11; Hayk Gyokchyan 3-4 0-0 6; Steve Tolliver 1-4 2-2 5; Brandon Beckford 1-4 0-0 2; Sal Salvati 0-0 0-0 0; Justin Driver 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 12-21 66.

Gettysburg....................   21   41  -   62

Franklin & Marshall...........   36   30  -   66

3-point goals--Gettysburg 6-21 (Brendan Hager 2-5; Kevin Kennedy 2-6; Andrew Powers 1-4; Brendan Trelease 1-4; Alex Zurn 0-2), Franklin & Marshall 2-5 (Anthony Brooks 1-1; Steve Tolliver 1-1; Mike Baker 0-1; Georgio Milligan 0-2).

Fouled out--Gettysburg-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.

Rebounds--Gettysburg 30 (Alex Zurn 8), Franklin & Marshall 34 (Mike Baker 14).

Assists--Gettysburg 14 (Brendan Hager 9), Franklin & Marshall 13 (Georgio Milligan 5).

Total fouls--Gettysburg 17, Franklin & Marshall 10.

Technical fouls--Gettysburg-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.

A-1116