Boxscore

(Lancaster, Pa.) – The Dickinson College men's basketball team could not overcome the home court advantage, falling 65-55 in the Centennial Conference Championship at Franklin & Marshall on Sunday. The Diplomats jumped out to a 10-0 lead before a Matt Dolan (Chalfont, Pa./St. Joe's Prep) three-pointer triggered a 9-2 run to pull the Devils within three at the 9:22 mark.

The Diplomats stretched the lead back to eight before Dolan pulled a rebound and found Chris Barsanti (Hummelstown, Pa./Tilton School) ahead of the pack for a dunk on the other end.

First-year Tucker Landy (Durham, Conn./Xavier) closed out the scoring for the half with a two-hand jam off a steal from Barsanti to pull the Devils within five at the break, 21-16.

The Devils pulled within one quickly as junior Chris Heine (Spring Lake, N.J./St. Rose) hit a pair of three-pointers to open the second half. F&M answered with a 12-0 run to take a 35-22 lead at the 14:16 mark.

The Diplomats would score just under half their points from the free throw line as the foul count reached 51 by the end of Sunday's conference final. F&M converted 31-of-39 attempts, including 27-of-33 in the second half.

Hayk Gyokchyan tallied eight of his game-high 16 points from the charity stripe while Georgio Milligan scored 11 of his 15 points from the line.

The Devils played even with the Diplomats for most of the second half, but still trailed by double-figures with just over a minute to play. A pair of Dolan free throws pull the Devils within six, 59-53, with 40 seconds on the clock.

The Diplomats would convert six straight free throws in the final 39 seconds to secure the win and the conference title.

Gyokchyan finished with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Milligan tallied 15 points and Mike Baker chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Dolan led the Devils with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. He went 6-for-6 from the free throw line and added blocked shot as well. Adam Honig (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) tallied seven points, a game-high four assists, four rebounds and a steal.

Barsanti scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while Greg Nicol (Aberdeen, Scotland/Taft School, Conn.) gave some quality minutes off the bench, adding five points and four rebounds.

The outcome may not have been what the Devils were looking for, but the season was a remarkable success to say the least. The Devils finished last in the conference a year ago and this season set a school record with 12 conference wins. They finished second in the conference standings and 15-12 overall.