READING, Pa. -- The Albright men's basketball team has spent the early portion of the season looking for a signature victory to jump start its year. The Lions almost got that victory on Wednesday, but 16th-ranked Franklin & Marshall rallied in the second half to edge Albright 69-63 in the Bollman Center.
The Lions held a five-point lead early in the second half, but the Diplomats rallied to claim its seventh victory of the season.
Albright, which dropped to 2-5 on the year, opened the second half on a 9-0 run fueled by seven points from
DeJuan Smith to grab a 41-36 lead with 16:39 to play in the game.
Franklin & Marshall, which raised its record to 7-1 overall, tied the game on a basket by Cedric Moune and a three-pointer by Brandon Federici at 41-41 with 14:40 left to play.
Smith, who tied his career high with 23 points, put the Lions back in front with a pair of free throws with 14:08 left in the second half.
Matthew Tate answered with a three-pointer for the Diplomats to regain the lead, but Smith made two free free throws to put the Lions back in fron at 45-44 with 13:09 left in the contest.
F&M used a 9-0 run to take a 53-45 lead with 9:41 left in the game, but Albright would respond.
Smith scored seven points to spark a 12-4 run which tied the game at 57-57 with 5:04 left in the second period.
Tate, who led Franklin & Marshall with 19 points, put the Diplomats ahead to stay with a three-pointer with 3:41 remaining in the game.
Albright had a chance to cut into a three-point lead with 1:32 left to play, but missed two free throws. Federici answered with a layup and the Diplomats made 3-of-6 free throw attempts down the stretch to secure the victory.
Smith finished the game 7-of-18 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the line to tie his career high of 23 points that he also had last season against Widener. He also added five rebounds, three steals and three assists.
Omari Ringgold had 11 points and
Evan Ward added nine points and eight rebounds. Junior
Calvert Gantz chipped in with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for Albright.
Tate led Franklin & Marshall with 19 points, while Federici finished with 18 points. Hunter Eggers had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Diplomats.
Both teams shot the ball well as Franklin & Marshall shot 46.7 percent from the floor while Albright shot 45.1 percent, but the Lions were undone by turning the ball over 24 times which led to 22 Franklin & Marshall points.
Albright will return to action on Dec. 19 when it faces William Peace in the opening round of the Luck Stone Holiday Tournament hosted by Hampden-Sydney.
