Jan. 30, 2008

Box Score

CARLISLE, Pa. - Kizmahr Grell led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, going 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and leading Dickinson to a 71-69 win over Franklin & Marshall in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night.

Down by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Red Devils (9-8, 5-6 CC) bounced back and outscored the Diplomats (10-8, 5-6 CC) 34-16 in the final 16 minutes of the game to take the first game in the regular-season series.

Dickinson's Tom Leszczynski recorded a double-double with 14 points and the same amount of rebounds, while Timothy Crouch added 10 points.

James McNally tallied his third double-double of the season with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Brooks went 8-for-10 from the floor for a career-high 18 points and matched a season-best eight boards. Mitch Rhyner posted 15 points, knocking down a career-high five three-pointers.

F&M held the lead the entire game, taking a 53-27 lead after Brooks converted a three-point play with a layup and free-throw at the 16:21 mark. The Red Devils held an 11-1 advantage over the next 3:37 to get within five points, but Chris Sullivan drained a three-pointer to make it 56-48.

Dickinson tied the game for the first time on a shot from the charity stripe from Grell and took the lead with two more shots by Grell from the line at 60-58. Clay Scovill knotted it at 60-all with a layup, but Jamaal Benjamin made two free throws to put the Red Devils ahead for good.

The Diplomats got within two points, before a point from Cory Kenny and a three-pointer by Grell pushed the lead to 69-63 with 3:26 left. McNally and Daniel Selig each contributed two points and Brooks drove in for the fast-break layup at 71-69 with 43 seconds left.

Leszczynski could not connect on either shot from the line and Selig grabbed the rebound, but F&M could not get the final layup to fall.

The Diplomats took a double-digit lead in the first half off a layup from McNally at 22-11. Dickinson battled back to get within two, but Rhyner went 2-for-2 from behind the arc in the final 2:12 to give F&M a 40-35 lead at intermission.

The Diplomats are looking for the season sweep of Swarthmore at home on Saturday. Game time is 8 p.m.