PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hayk Gyokchyan, Franklin & Marshall (So, F, Beirut, Lebanon / The Lawrenceville School)
Gyokochyan averaged 15.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in leading the Diplomats to their unprecedented sixth Centennial title. He registered his first double-double of the season in the title-game win vs. Dickinson with 16 points and 13 boards.
Complete Men's Basketball Release #14
Around the Conference
Dickinson
The Red Devils reached their first Centennial final since 1997 before falling at #19 Franklin & Marshall, 65-55. The 55 points was the second-lowest total for Dickinson in a contest this season (54 vs. McDaniel, 12/1/10). Senior Matt Dolan (Chalfont, PA / St. Joseph’s Prep) led the team in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (7.0). Dickinson’s 15-12 record was a plus-9 improvement on last season’s 4-19 mark.
Franklin & Marshall
The Diplomats won their unprecedented sixth Centennial title with wins against Haverford and Dickinson. Sophomore Hayk Gyokchyan (Beirut, Lebanon / Lawrenceville School) posted a double-double in the title-game win vs. the Devils with 16 points and 13 caroms. F&M is the third team to win back-to-back Centennial crowns, joining Gettysburg (2001-02) and Ursinus (2005-06). The Diplomats head to the NCAA tournament for the 22nd time and will meet the champions of the USA South Conference - North Carolina Wesleyan (21-6) - in the first round.
Gettysburg
The Bullets’ quest to reach a fourth consecutive Centennial final was halted in the semis with a 71-62 loss to Dickinson. Senior Kevin Kennedy (Gaithersburg, MD / Quince Orchard) scored 21 points and closed his career tied for sixth in program history with 127 three-pointers. Classmate Andrew Powers (Boyertown, PA / Boyertown) concluded his stellar career with 1,946 points and 270 assists – both program records. Only five D-III players are known to hold both marks at their institution.
Haverford
The Fords pulled out a 61-60 first-round road win at McDaniel before being ousted from the Conference tournament by Franklin & Marshall, 71-62. Senior Sam Permutt (Columbia, MD / Atholton) averaged a double-double on the week with 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. He closed his career just nine points shy of 1,000 (991) and is eighth on the program’s all-time rebound list (566).
Johns Hopkins
Junior Tim McCarty (Warrington, PA / Germantown Academy) was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team. An economics major with a minor in entrepreneurship and management, boasts a 4.00 cumulative GPA, he is the first player at Hopkins to earn Academic All-America honors since Matt Griffin ‘07 did so in 2007 and is the fifth Academic All-American in program history.
McDaniel
The Terror dropped a heart-breaking 61-60 decision to Haverford in the first round of the CC tournament. Junior Devon Lesniak (Westminster, MD / Winters Mill) scored 19 points, while junior Cullen Murray-Kemp (Trappe, MD / Easton) added 13. McDaniel has not won a Conference playoff game since 1961.
Muhlenberg
Junior Spencer Liddic (Clarks Summit, PA / Abington Heights) became the first Mule in 30 years to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team recognition. A double major in business administration and finance, he is the third Muhlenberg player to be named to the first unit.
Swarthmore
Sophomore Will Gates (Willseyville, NY / Candor Central) scored 457 points on the year - the seventh-highest single-season total ever at Swarthmore. Jay Kober (North Huntingdon, PA / Norwin) finished second among Centennial freshmen with a 11.8 ppg average.
Ursinus
Senior Matt Hilton (Lewistown, PA / Lewistown) set a Centennial career record for free throw percentage at 90.1 percent, making 274 of 301. He is also set a CC career mark for three-point field goal percentage (44.6). Sophomore Jon Ward’s (Allentown, PA / Parkland) 63.4 field goal percentage is the eighth-best in Centennial single-season history, while his 182 made free throws is the second highest.
Washington College
Junior Kevin Breslin (Hagerstown, MD / St. Maria Goretti) scored 29 points at Ursinus to become the 35th player in program history to reach 1,000 points. He joins his older brother, Joey ’07, as members of the 1K Club at Washington and are the second set of brothers to each score more than 1,000 points at the school. Breslin finished the season with 1,039 points.