Full Game Notes

LiveStats
Live Video

Before Christmas break, the Albright College men's basketball team hosts Franklin & Marshall in a tough non-conference test.

Series

This will be the 99th meeting between two former Middle Atlantic Conference rivals. At one point, the two teams combined for four MAC championships in a six-year span from 1974-1979. F&M also won the MAC in six of their final eight years before joining the Centennial Conference in 1993-94.

The two sides have not met since the 2001-02 season. F&M took an easy 100-68 win at home in that game, however Albright had beaten the Diplomats 70-53 in the Bollman Center a year earlier.

Albright College Lions (3-4)

Despite a rough start to the season, Albright earned an important 78-74 road victory over a Widener team that was among the nation's top offensive squads. That pushed the Lions into sole possession of fourth place in the Commonwealth standings with a 2-2 league mark.

Senior Kyle Jordan was named the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week for his performance in Chester, Pa. Jordan had his second straight double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), to lead Albright. The previous weekend he totaled 19 points and 15 boards in a loss at Alvernia. With 13 seconds left in a tie game, Jordan pulled down a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for the game-winning basket.

Fellow senior Sam Marrella had tied the contest with two free throws as the Lions scored the game's final six points. He made 6-of-8 field goals to finish with a game-high 18 points. Casey Burke added six points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

Franklin & Marshall College (4-4)

F&M is 4-4 overall, including close losses to #21 Alvernia (70-69 in overtime) and #12 St. Mary's-Md. (64-61).

Four of the eight Diplomats who average double-digit minutes stand 6-foot-5 or taller. Franklin & Marshall pulled down 20 offensive rebounds in their last game, a 71-61 win over conference opponent Haverford. Freshman Cedric Moune is averaging 10.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, while junior Jon Salandra adds 14.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per contest.

Head Coaches

Rick Ferry was in just his second month as Albright's head coach the last time the Lions faced Franklin & Marshall. He has now been in charge for 13 seasons and has led Albright to postseason play in eight of the last 10 years.

Franklin & Marshall's Glenn Robinson is Division III's all-time winningest coach with 857 victories in 43 years. He has earned multiple National Coach of the Year awards and led the Diplomats to five Final Four appearances (most recently in 2008-09, with two Elite Eight seasons since then).