Olsen Paces Shoremen with 16 Points

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Seventeenth-ranked Franklin & Marshall held host Washington College to 24% shooting from the field and out-rebounded the Shoremen by 20 en route to a 63-47 win in the Centennial Conference men's basketball opener for both teams tonight inside Cain Athletic Center.

The Shoremen (2-2, 0-1 Centennial) jumped out to a 12-5 lead 6:10 into the game with 10 of those points coming from senior forward Chris Olsen (Ellicott City, MD/Mount St. Joseph). Washington then went cold, scoring just nine points and shooting just 2-for-19 from the field over the final 13:50 of the period as F&M (3-0, 1-0) went on a 15-0 run to take a 20-12 lead on a jumper by Kevin Henry with 5:47 to go in the period. The Diplomats stretched the lead to 13 points by halftime, taking a 34-21 advantage into the intermission. F&M led by at least nine points throughout the second half, building its biggest lead of the game on a jumper by Hayk Gyokchyan with 1:48 remaining that gave the visitors a 63-43 cushion.

F&M shot 45% from the field in the game, including 52% in the second half.  The Diplomats held a commanding 52-32 advantage on the boards, more than offsetting their 27 turnovers in the contest.  Washington finished 16-for-67 from the floor, including 1-for-14 from three-point range, knocking down just three field goals from outside the paint. The Shoremen committed 16 turnovers in the contest. 

Georgio Milligan led the Diplomats with 16 points and five assists, while Gyokchyan scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Brandon Beckford added 14 points and four steals.

Olsen matched his career high with 16 points in the win for Washington, shooting 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.

The Shoremen return to action November 30th with a 7:30 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Haverford.