Morgan Lee, Franklin & Marshall
Franklin & Marshall 64, Dickinson 34
Franklin & Marshall made a statement with a convincing 64-34 victory over Dickinson in the regular season finale on Saturday in front of near-capacity crowd at the Mayser Center. The victory gives F&M home-court advantage for the Centennial Conference (CC) playoffs for the fifth-straight year. F&M will face the winner of Muhlenberg and Gettysburg on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. with Dickinson taking on Johns Hopkins at 5:30 p.m. The Mules and Bears will tip off on Wednesday in Allentown at 7:00 p.m. The margin-of-victory was largest for F&M this season, 30 points, and the 34 points allowed was the fewest scored on the Diplomats all year. Morgan Lee led all scorers with 14 points off the bench and Jon Salandra finished 13 with seven rebounds. Gerry Wixted led Dickinson with 11 points and Chris Barsanti finished with seven.
- Will Welliver of the Lancaster Sunday News writes that the road to the Centennial Conference title runs through Lancaster once again after F&M's 64-34 win over Dickinson.
Johns Hopkins 68, Washington College 67
Sophomore Jimmy Hammer, one of the best three-point shooters in the conference, hit just one bucket from downtown on Saturday afternoon but it was the game-winner as Johns Hopkins beat visiting Washington College, 68-67, in the regular season finale. The Blue Jays improve to 16-9 overall and 12-6 in the Centennial Conference as they secured the number three seed and a first-round bye in next week's tournament. George Bugarinovic scored 21 points to pace four Blue Jays in double digits. It is his third 20-point game of the season as he just missed a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Mike Rhoads and Adam Spengler, playing in their final game at Goldfarb Gym, finished with 16 and 11, respectively. Hammer chipped in 11 points while also dishing out six assists. Stephen Poarch led all scorers with 24 points, while Charlie McShane had 14 and John Weston added 11.
Muhlenberg 80, Ursinus 56
Although he had started every game but one since the beginning his career, Austin Curry had no trouble giving up his starting spot to senior Ryan Lagomarsino on Senior Day for the Muhlenberg men's basketball team. "I wouldn't have minded if he's shot the lights out and stayed in there the whole time," joked Curry. Lagomarsino didn't, but plenty of his teammates hit shots as the Mules breezed to an 80-56 win against Ursinus. With the win and Johns Hopkins' one-point victory against Washington, Muhlenberg (16-9, 12-6) is the fourth seed for the Centennial Conference playoffs. The Mules will host fifth-seeded Gettysburg, a 75-50 loser to McDaniel, in a first-round game on Wednesday.
McDaniel 75, Gettysburg 50
McDaniel scored nine straight points to spark a 16-3 first-half burst that keyed a 75-50 Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball victory over Gettysburg on Saturday. Tyler Rudd (Glen Burnie, Md./Glen Burnie) netted 20 points in the his final regular-season game for the Green Terror (14-11, 8-10 CC), who forged a three-way tie for the fifth spot in the conference standings after Muhlenberg downed Ursinus. By virtue of a 3-1 record among the tied teams, the Bullets (12-13, 8-10 CC) earned the final playoff spot over McDaniel and Ursinus. Joe Emerusabe led Gettysburg with 18 points.
Swarthmore 76, Haverford 60
The Swarthmore College men's basketball team (7-18, 6-12) ended the 2012-13 season on a high note, defeating arch-rival Haverford by a score of 76-60 on Saturday afternoon. Senior Will Gates ended his illustrious Garnet career with a game-high 25 points. Gates finishes his career with a program-record 1,702 career points, becoming just the ninth player in Centennial Conference history to eclipse 1,700 career points. Junior Jay Kober finished with 17 points while sophomore Karl Barkley added 10 points. Junior Jordan Federer capped a strong finish to the season at the point-guard position with seven assists. Swarthmore's win was noteworthy on many fronts. The victory gave the Garnet its first season sweep of the rival Fords since the 2005-06 season. The win was also Swarthmore's first at Haverford's Gooding Area and its largest margin of victory over the Fords since a 60-43 win on Jan. 18, 2006. Cam Baker led the Fords with 19 points.