Weston Paces Shoremen with 16 Points

CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- Visiting Franklin & Marshall improved to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in Centennial Conference play with a 57-54 win over host Washington College in men's basketball action this afternoon inside Cain Athletic Center.

The Diplomats held an 18-11 lead following a pair of free throws by Morgan Lee with 8:40 remaining in the first half before the Shoremen (3-10, 2-4) went on a 10-0 run, capped off by a fast-break three-pointer by sophomore forward Pat Morgan (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) with 4:53 to go, giving Washington a 21-18 advantage. Washington's lead grew to 26-22 before the Diplomats scored the last five points of the half to take a 27-26 lead on a fast-break lay-up by Terrel Phelps with three seconds left before the intermission. 

Washington used a 12-5 spurt to build its biggest lead of the game at 42-36 on a lay-up by junior guard John Weston (Tampa, Fla./Bolles School) with 12:16 remaining in the second half. F&M came back with a 10-0 run to take a 46-42 lead on a Lee lay-up with 9:01 remaining. The Diplomats maintained a lead the rest of the way. 

Washington had the ball trailing, 51-48, with under 90 seconds to go but a Weston turnover with 1:15 left gave the ball back to the Diplomats. F&M went 4-for-7 from the free-throw line in the ensuing seconds to build a 55-48 advantage before a Morgan three-pointer trimmed the margin to 55-51 with 14.1 seconds to play. The Shoremen fouled immediately on the ensuing inbounds and Jon Salandra made one of two free throws with 13.4 seconds left. Weston then knocked down a three-pointer with 6.3 seconds to play to cut the margin to two at 56-54. Phelps was fouled with 4.9 seconds to play and made the second of his two free throws to give the Diplomats a 57-54 lead. Weston pushed the ball up court on the ensuing possession but was called for traveling just before time expired as F&M held on for the win.

Salandra led F&M with 13 points in the game. He also grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots. Phelps and Lee added 12 points each as Lee also chipped in nine rebounds and three assist. Cedric Moune contributed eight points, a game-best 12 rebounds, and a game-high three blocked shots in the win.

Weston finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with a game-high five assists. Morgan added 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while junior guard Sean Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) scored 10 points. Senior guard Kevin Cunningham (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) swiped a game-high five steals and collected a team-best eight rebounds for the Shoremen in the loss.

F&M shot 41% from the field and 17-for-26 from the free-throw line in the win, but went 0-for-8 from three-point range. Washington was just 32% from the field, 9-for-32 from three-point range, and 7-for-14 from the line in the loss. 

The Shoremen return to action Tuesday with a 6:00 p.m. Centennial Conference home game against Ursinus.