Basketball Teams Prepare for Playoffs; Milligan, Barbush Earn POY Honors
Georgio Milligan ’12 was voted Centennial Conference (CC) Player of the Year for the second straight season. Milligan, who is averaging a conference-best 18.4 points per game, became the first player in CC history to earn first-team all-conference honors four times. On Feb. 18, he passed former teammate James McNally ’11 to become F&M's all-time scoring leader.
By Chris Karlesky
The Franklin & Marshall men’s and women’s basketball teams will compete in the 2012 Centennial Conference (CC) playoffs this weekend on the heels of an award-winning and record-breaking week for Diplomat basketball.
The men’s basketball team hosts the CC tournament on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, in Mayser Gymnasium. The top-seeded Diplomats (23-2 overall, 16-2 CC) play fifth-seeded Washington College (14-12, 9-9) in the semifinals on Friday at 8 p.m., while second-seeded Muhlenberg College (17-8, 11-7) squares off against third-seeded Dickinson College (14-11, 11-7) in the evening’s other semifinal at 6 p.m. The semifinal winners play Saturday at 7 p.m. in Mayser for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The women’s basketball team travels to Baltimore on Friday, Feb. 24, for the CC playoffs hosted by Johns Hopkins University. The second-seeded Diplomats (18-7, 15-5) play third-seeded Muhlenberg College (20-5, 15-5) at 8 p.m. in Goldfarb Gym after the host Blue Jays (22-3, 17-3) play Haverford College (18-8, 12-8) at 6 p.m. The winners play Saturday at 7 p.m. in Baltimore for the CC championship and a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Both F&M basketball teams are well represented on the all-CC teams, which were announced on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Georgio Milligan ’12 repeated as Player of the Year on the men’s side and became the first player in conference history to earn first-team all-CC honors four times. Meanwhile, Alexa Barbush ’13 is Player of the Year on the women’s side after earning honorable mention accolades in 2011.
Joining Milligan on the men’s all-conference team were Hayk Gyokchyan ’13 (second team), Matt Porter ’14 (honorable mention) and Jon Salandra ’14 (honorable mention). Allison Bauer ’12 and Megan Pauley ’12 earned honorable mention honors on the women’s all-CC team.
In the men’s basketball team’s regular-season finale at Dickinson on Feb. 18, Milligan scored 26 points and set the program’s career scoring record, leading the Diplomats to a 63-53 victory. The all-time scoring record was set last year—also at Dickinson—by Milligan’s former teammate, James McNally ’11 (1,796 points). Donnie Marsh ’79 (1,695 points) previously held the scoring mark for 32 years. Milligan, who leads the CC in scoring this season at 18.4 points per game, now has 1,807 points in his career.
A first-team NABC All-American in 2011, Milligan is the third player in F&M history to earn back-to-back CC Player of the Year awards. Dave Jannetta ’95 won the honor in 1994 and 1995, while Alex Kraft ’02 garnered the award in 2000 and 2001. F&M has won a conference-best eight Player-of-the-Year awards since the CC’s inception in 1993.
Barbush is the fifth Diplomat to win POY honors for the women, joining former winners Sarah Meisenberg ’09 (2008), Dana Johns ’06 (2005), Amy Abernathy ’04 (2004) and Amy Kreitz ’02 (2001).
Alexa Barbush ’13 is the Centennial Conference Player of the Year on the women's side. Barbush leads the Diplomats into the CC playoffs at Johns Hopkins University on Friday, Feb. 24, when the second-seeded Diplomats take on third-seeded Muhlenberg at 8 p.m.
