Chris Barsanti, Dickinson (photo by James Rasp)
Dickinson 61, Gettysburg 58
Gettysburg erased an eight-point second-half deficit, but Dickinson outscored the Bullets 5-0 in the final 2:32 and the Centennial Conference-leading Red Devils escaped with a 61-58 victory Wednesday evening in Bream Gymnasium. The Bullets had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but sophomore Joe Emerusabe (Derwood, Md./Magruder) missed a 3-pointer from the left elbow. Emerusabe hit the floor after his shot was contested before Dickinson rebounded as time expired. The nip-and-tuck battle featured 10 ties and seven lead changes. Senior Chris Barsanti (Hummelstown, Pa./Tilton School, Conn.) was perfect from the floor, hitting all seven shots for 15 points, adding a steal and two blocked shots. Adam Honig (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) scored 15 points as well, dishing out four assists and recording four steals as well. Sango Amolo led the Bullets (12-12, 8-9) with a game-high 16 points. Bors finished with 14 points and four steals while Brooks added 12 points and four assists. It was the Red Devils' school-record setting 18th win of the season.
Franklin & Marshall 73, Johns Hopkins 54
Hayk Gyokchyan scored a game-high 24 points to lead Franklin & Marshall to a 73-54 victory over Johns Hopkins in Centennial Conference (CC) basketball action. The victory is the sixth straight over the Blue Jays and sets up a showdown of the top two teams in the conference on Saturday and the winner of F&M and Dickinson will earn home court advantage throughout the CC playoffs. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. at the Mayser Center. Gyokchyan shot 10-for-16 from field, including 4-for-8 from behind the arc to lead all scorers. Matt Porter tallied 14 on 6-for-7 shooting and Jon Salandra fished 12. Brandon Beckford pulled down a game-high seven and dished out five assists for the Diplomats. George Bugarinovic led Hopkins with 12 points and Adam Spengler finished with 10.
- Joel Schreiner of the Lancaster Newspapers writes that it's one-down, one-to-go for the Franklin & Marshall basketball team after a win over Johns Hopkins on Wednesday night.
Muhlenberg 61, Haverford 51
Cam Baker scored a game-high 18 points while Lucas Colombo pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds for Haverford College's men's basketball team Wednesday night, but host Muhlenberg College went 7-of-8 from the foul line down the stretch to defeat the visiting Fords, 61-51, in Centennial Conference action. Haverford (7-16, 5-12 CC) pulled within five points of the playoff-bound Mules (15-9, 11-6) nearing the two-minute mark, but the Fords were forced to foul to preserve time on the clock and Muhlenberg was nearly perfect from the stripe to hold off the come-back attempt. Kevin Hargrove led a trio of Mules scoring in double-figures, netting 14 points and pulling off the double-double by coming down with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Ursinus 74, Washington College 72
Ursinus College freshman guard Malik Draper hit a layup with just 3.1 seconds remaining as Ursinus (10-14, 8-9 Centennial) defeated Washington (4-20, 4-13 Centennial) 74-72 on Wednesday night in men's basketball play. The win, coupled with a Gettysburg loss to Dickinson, means the Bears are still alive in the Centennial Conference playoff race. The Bears will need to beat Muhlenberg on Saturday and have Gettysburg fall to McDaniel for the Bears to clinch the fifth and final playoff seed. Senior forward Jon Ward (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) had a team-high 17 points, with junior guard Ryan Adams (White Plains, N.Y./The Hun School) scoring 16 off the bench. Senior forward Kevin Janowski (New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt) had ten points for Ursinus. Washington College was led by sophomore guard Stephen Poarch who had a game-high 21 points.
McDaniel 76, Swarthmore 71 (OT)
After a Swarthmore 3-pointer at the buzzer forced overtime, McDaniel scored the first seven points of the extra session and never looked back in a 76-71 Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball win on Wednesday. Andrew Merlo (Rehoboth, Del./Cape Henlopen) netted his fourth 20-point game of the season for the Green Terror (13-11, 7-10 CC) with seven of his 21 points coming in overtime. Tyler Rudd (Glen Burnie, Md./Glen Burnie) and Evan Pupelis (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) also reached double figures with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Pupelis rounded out a double-double performance with 13 rebounds. He also had four assists for McDaniel, which by virtue of a 74-72 Ursinus victory over Washington (Md.) was eliminated from the CC playoff race with one game to play because of tiebreakers. The Green Terror did, however, assure itself a record of at least .500 and are thus eligible for the ECAC tournament, which begins on Feb. 27. That field will be announced on Monday, Feb. 25. Will Gates led the Garnet (6-18, 5-12 CC) with 29 points and 10 rebounds. The 29 points made him Swarthmore's all-time leading scorer.