COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Following a three-game road-trip, the Ursinus College men's basketball team pulled away in the second half against Franklin & Marshall to win, 74-62. Behind Bruce Edwards' three steals and a block, the Bears allowed just 27 second-half points to get a much-needed Centennial Conference win.
Both teams came out firing offensively, making a combined 13-of-18 shots from the field in the first five minutes. Getting the Bears on the board first was Ryan McTamney who made back-to-back shots from beyond the arc and then drove into the paint for a layup to score the team's first eight points.
The Bears (9-8, 4-6 CC) held the biggest lead of the half at 13-7, but it only lasted 23 seconds before a Diplomats trey closed the gap back to three. Despite the hot start, the Diplomats matched the Bears shot for shot. A third 3 from Ryan Hughes put Ursinus up 11-7 and then after consecutive makes from long range by Franklin & Marshall, Ursinus held just a 17-16 advantage.
A Jimmy Kpadeh 3 put the Bears up by five before the Diplomats (7-10, 3-7 CC) matched it with a triple of their own to spark an 8-3 run to go up 33-30. The Bears would go over four minutes without a make from the field until Lucas Olshevski broke the drought with a lay-in to re-take the lead and go into the half up 38-35.
The Diplomats tied the game with their first shot coming out of the half, making the first of four consecutive shots from beyond the arc to go up 47-41. Another three gave Franklin and Marshall its largest lead of the game as Ursinus found itself trailing 50-43.
After a strong performance on the boards in the first half by Ursinus, out-rebounding Franklin & Marshall 18-13, the Diplomats doubled the Bears early in the second half, 6-3, resulting in six second-chance points.
Getting back to the basics, a pair of Ursinus offensive rebounds turned into four points while closing the deficit to one. Edwards would convert on an 'and-one' three-point play to put the Bears back ahead, 54-52, and they never trailed again.
Franklin & Marshall tied the game at 55 and then the Ursinus offense exploded and the defense locked down in what was a 19-3 scoring run to pull away. Starting the run was McTamney with a lay-up in the paint before Olshevski scored on the fast-break to put the Bears up by double-digits for the first time. George Gordon continued to pull the Bears away with his first three of the game, giving Ursinus a 72-58 lead as the Bears held on to win.
The Bears doubled the Diplomats on the boards at the offensive end, 14-7. Ursinus also turned 14 Franklin & Marshall turnovers into 20 points.
Individually, a total of four Bears ended the night in double-digits. Leading the way was McTamney with 19 followed by Hughes (17), Gordon (12), and Olshevski (10). McTamney also ended with a double-double with 10 rebounds, including a team-high three on the offensive end.
Jimmy Kpadeh dished out seven assists, six of them coming in the first half as the Bears got off to their scorching start.
The Bears are back in action at home on Wednesday when they will look to avenge their overtime loss to Haverford (12-5, 7-3 CC) from earlier in the season.