The men’s basketball season opened with a bang over the weekend, with the Diplomats knocking off Neumann and Oneonta St. to win the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament title.
The men’s basketball season opened with a bang over the weekend, with the Diplomats knocking off Neumann and Oneonta St. to win the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament title.
F&M starts the season 2-0 and won the Tip-Off Tournament title for the second consecutive season. Point guard Georgio Milligan ’12 won tournament MVP.
F&M kicked off the 2011-2012 season Friday night against Neumann. The game was tight throughout and featured a big night from forward Hayk Gyokchyan ’13, who came off the bench. He finished the game with 26 points and 14 rebounds. His point total was a career high.
Gyokchyan picked a good night to go off, as the Dips needed almost every one of his 26 points.
After trading leads for a majority of the first half, F&M began to pull away. Following a layup from guard Max Bewer ’13, the Dips held a 26-20 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first half. The Dips failed to hold the lead, however, as Neumann put together a run that closed F&M’s lead to two points heading into halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, Neumann applied plenty of pressure, taking a slim lead at the 14-minute mark, going up 38-36 on a short jumper. Neumann’s lead extended to six about a minute leader when Rich Whitten drained a three-pointer.
That was a large as Neumann’s lead would get. By the seven-minute mark, F&M had tied the game at 51 thanks to a layup by Gyokchyan. Although Neumann got close on several occasions, F&M never relinquished its lead.
The dagger came at the two and a half minute mark when Milligan drained a three-point shot, extending the Dips’ lead to four points. Neumann got close on a few occasions, but the Diplomats were always ready with a response, including an emphatic dunk by Jon Salandra ’14 with just under a minute remaining.
F&M’s 69-63 victory to open the season propelled the Dips into the finals game against Oneonta St. Saturday, which had defeated Kean Friday night.
Saturday night’s finals match was far less suspenseful than Friday night’s opening game, with the Dips winning by 18, 64-46.
Oneonta St. opened the game with four unanswered points, but once F&M tied the game at four several minutes later, the Dips never looked back and led the rest of the game. Milligan paced the Diplomats with 16 points, and Salandra chipped in 11 points as well.
Unlike Friday night’s game, Gyokchyan was relatively quiet in the points column, netting only three points. The forward hit the boards hard, however, pulling down 11 rebounds to pace F&M.
Despite the two wins, David Balderston ’12 feels like the team still has room for improvement going forward.
“We played well enough to win, but we know we have huge room for improvement,” Balderston said. “We played some good defense this weekend, and rebounded the ball well, but we know we need to get better.”
In both Friday and Saturday’s games, head coach Glenn Robinson spread out playing time across the bench. Eleven players saw action in Friday night’s game, and 15 Diplomats registered minutes Saturday. Milligan was the only Diplomat to play more than 30 minutes in both games.
Following their impressive opening performance, the Dips will hit the road for its next game and first Centennial Conference contest. Picked to win the conference title for the third consecutive season prior to the season, F&M will be looking to get off on the right foot against Washington on the road.
“The conference will definitely be tough this year, with a lot of teams recruiting well and getting better,” Balderston said. “We set a goal to win the conference and the NCAA automatic bid, and we know we have the talent to three-peat. We have a lot of work to do to get there, but we know what it takes and we’re working hard every day to get there.”
F&M has dominated the head-to-head series thus far, posting a 38-13 record against Washington. The Diplomats have won the last three contests against the Shoremen. Despite the lopsided advantage F&M has in the series, Balderston isn’t taking the team’s past success for granted.
“We have a tough week ahead,” Balderston said. “Washington is a tough place to play, and we always have battles with St. Mary’s. We feel good about getting this wins heading into the week.”
Following the team’s one-game road trip, the Diplomats will return home to the comfortable confines of the Mayser Center to face St. Mary’s.
F&M’s game against Washington is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. The game against St. Mary’s is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
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