CARLISLE, Pa. - The Dickinson men's basketball team faced another stiff challenge on Saturday afternoon as they welcomed the rival Franklin and Marshall College to the Kline Center for a big Centennial Conference showdown. Things started well for the Red and White as they took a ten-point lead into the halftime break. However, the Diplomats used a 21-5 charge over an 11 minute span in the second half to ultimately force overtime at 53-53 en route to a slim 63-60 victory.
First Half
- It would be F&M who got out to a fast start as four different players picked up points in the opening four minutes to take a 9-3 edge.
- Dickinson responded with a 13-0 romp as buckets by Cole Cosby, Matt Mahoney, Dane Moran, Jacob Pichay and Luis Ruiz made it 16-9 home side with 10:04 gone.
- A foul shot for Bryson Amos-Whitfield and layup by Franklin Jones cut the gap to just four (16-12), but six straight from Moran quickly bumped it back out to ten (22-12) with just over six to play.
- The two sides traded the ensuing eight points with Moran providing the DC offense leaving the score at 26-16.
- Ryan Leskauskas and Kevin Nowoswiat exchanged triples and Isiah Edmond notched a layup just prior to the horn to keep the advantage at double-digits (32-22) entering the second period.
Second Half
- Pichay kicked things off with two layups, before Joey Dopirak popped the ball free from Steve Donahue leading to a pass ahead for Edmond which he converted at the rim for a 38-22 lead 75-seconds in.
- Buckets for Bohdan Biekietov and Jones were answered by layups put away by Edmond and Mahoney to keep the margin at 16 with five minutes gone (42-26).
- A foul shot knocked down by Juan Ruiz and driving layup for Edmond were the only Devil points during a 23-3 outburst for the Diplomats giving them a 49-45 advantage at the 15:55 mark.
- Dickinson got a response from Dopirak to cut the deficit to two, before Moran blocked Amos-Whitfield at the other end of the floor resulting in Edmond grabbing a bucket in transition to tie things back up at 49.
- Four of the next went to the Diplomats with Donahue picking up two at the charity stripe and Jones adding a layup to make the score 53-51 with 95-second to play.
- After each team gave the ball away it was back in the hands of the Red and White with 30 seconds left. That was when Moran found himself right under the basket and powered up for the layup to tie the game plus earning an "and one" opportunity. Unfortunately, he would leave the foul shot short giving F&M a last chance at victory, but the layup attempts for both Vakaris Grauslys and Jones clanged off the rim forcing overtime.
Overtime
- The opening two minutes saw the points pile up on both sides as Donahue and Jones tallied for the Diplomats, while Dopirak and Moran picked up points for the Devils to leave the home side behind by one (59-58).
- Dickinson would unfortunately come up empty on their next three shots allowing the duo of Grauslys and Jones to extend the margin to 63-58 with just over a minute remaining.Â
- Moran chipped in a layup to trim the gap to three, but last ditch three-point tries for Mahoney and Moran came up short allowing the Diplomats to escape with the 63-60 win.
Dickinson Top Performers
- Points - Moran (19), Edmond (12), Dopirak (8)
- Rebounds - Moran (14), Dopirak and J. Ruiz (5), Edmond, Mahoney and L. Ruiz (4)
- Assists - Edmond (3), Cosby, Dopirak, Mahoney and L. Ruiz (2)
- Steals - Dopirak (3), Cosby and Moran (2)
Opponent Top Performers
- Points - Jones (15), Amos-Whitfield and Grauslys (13), Donahue (12)
- Rebounds - Jones (9), Amos-Whitfield (7), Nowoswiat (6)
- Assists - Grauslys (6), Jones and Nowoswiat (2)
- Steals - Jones (5), Grauslys (3), Amos-Whitfield (2)
Up Next
- Dickinson (4-13, 1-4 Centennial) travels down to Baltimore on Wednesday night for a conference matchup with the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins University at Goldfarb Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 8pm.
