COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Holding a seven-point lead at halftime, Ursinus saw 15th-ranked Franklin & Marshall outscored Ursinus 14-2 over the first 5:34 of the second half as the Diplomats (4-1, 2-0 Centennial) rallied for a 78-69 win over Ursinus (2-3, 1-1 Centennial) Wednesday night.
F&M was paced by junior guard Georgio Milligan who had 24 points, one of four Diplomats to reach double figures. Senior forward James McNally score 16 points, all of which came in the second half as the Diplomats shot 15-for-29 in the final 20 minutes from the field.
For Ursinus, sophomore forward Jon Ward (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) tied a career-high as he scored 24 points, with senior guard Matt Hilton (Lewistown, Pa./Lewistown Area) had 14 points. Hilton now finds himself just two points away from 1,000 in his career.
The Bears started off hot, shooting 51.7 percent in the first half from the field, propelling them to a 18-8 lead with 12:48 left in the first half on a three-pointer by Matt Hilton. Ursinus would maintain the lead, not letting the Diplomats get within seven at any point. The lead reached its apex at 39-25 with 2:02 left on a pair of foul shots by Hilton.
After a layup by freshman guard Ryan Adams (White Plains, N.Y./The Hun School) with 1:27 left gave Ursinus a 41-27 with 1:27 left, F&M scored the final seven points of the second half. A layup by Milligan at the buzzer got the Diplomats within seven at the break, 41-34.
F&M took the lead for good at 44-43 with 16:54 left on a pair of foul shots by McNally. The run would put F&M up by five at 50-45 on a layup by McNally with 14:26 left.
Ursinus would get to within one twice, the last instance at 60-59 with 7:48 left on a layup by Ward. From there, F&M would go on a short 9-2 to go up 69-61 with 4:21 left on a jumper by McNally and would never look back.
The Bears held a slim 35-34 lead on the glass, as Ward and freshman point guard Jesse Krasna (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) each grabbing seven. For F&M, sophomore guard Brandon Beckford had seven rebounds.
Prior to the game, Ursinus honored former standout and current assistant coach Mike McGarvey by retiring his jersey number. McGarvey was a two-time All-American and a two-time Centennial Conference Player of the Year, in addition to being the all-time leader in assists in school and conference history with 741.