COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – With just four games left, the Ursinus College men's basketball team probably played its best, and worst game on Wednesday night against F&M. The Bears had lost its last 11 to the Diplomats and it looked like number 12 was on the horizon.
But, in stepped senior guard Jesse Krasna.
Krasna, who missed the early part of his final season with an injury, led Bears to its biggest win of the year in as Ursinus (4-18, 2-13 CC)made a stunning comeback to defeat Franklin and Marshall 61-56 (14-8, 10-5 CC).
He led the bears with 18 points ad now only needs 41 points in his final three games to get to 1,000 for his career. Senior guard Pat Vasturia scored 17 points off the bench, while senior forward Ryan Adams had a ten points.
The Diplomats (14-8, 10-5 Centennial) got 15 points each from Devin Figueroa and Jon Salandra, and 11 points from Matt Porter in the loss. The Dips had a 39-25 edge on the glass, and shot better from the field 45.1 percent to 40.7 percent for the Bears.
Early, it looked like Ursinus was going to be handed its 12th straight loss in the series, as F&M jumped out to a commanding 24-1 lead with 9:31 left. Momentum shifted when Ursinus head coach Kevin Small turned up the defensive pressure. While that did not change the score immediately, the Bears were able to hold the Diplomats to 11 points the rest of the way in the first half.
Still, Ursinus had a hill to climb down 35-16 at intermission.
That defensive pressure, which Ursinus has been utilizing more in recent games, allowed the Bears to force 15 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. However, Ursinus found themselves down 53-43 with 8:01 left in the game.
The Bears would close the game on an 18-3 run, and keep F&M to just one field goal over a span of 8:01. Of those 18 points, Krasna would account for ten of them including the go-ahead basket with 3:43 left on a layup. That also ended a streak of seven straight points for the senior.
Leading by one with 2:24 left, Vasturia took a nice pass from Krasna and netted a layup plus a foul for a three-point play with 1:04 left for a four-point lead.
Ursinus defeated F&M for the first time nearly six years to the day of their last win, a 77-60 win in Lancaster on February 13, 2008. The Bears close the home schedule on Saturday with a date with Washington College.