Game Notes

Following Friday's 75-64 win over fourth-seed Ursinus, the (RV) Diplomats (20-6, 11-2 Centennial) are through to their first Centennial Conference Championship game since 2015-16, and they'll face second-seed Johns Hopkins on Sunday at the Mayser Center. Last month, F&M earned a 66-56 win over the Blue Jays, snapping a 14-game losing run in the series.

Last Time Out 

After pulling away by 22 points in the first half, F&M saw their lead shrink down to five points in the second half before earning a 65-64 win over Ursinus on Friday night. Kevin Nowoswiat posted 20 points, shooting 12-of-13 on free throws and 4-of-9 (44.4%) on field goals. John Seidman posted 18 points with eight rebounds, while Vakaris Grauslys recorded 13 points. He'll enter Sunday's game just 17 points from 1,000 for his career. Sebastien Charles had eight rebounds and seven points from the bench. 

The Diplomats comfortably led the way in the first half, outscoring Ursinus 43-21. In the process, F&M outrebounded their opponents 24-12, shot 17-of-30 (56.7%) on field goals, and kept their opponents to 6-of-23 (26.1%) from the field. Josh Parra opened the game with the first six points over the first three minutes. A 7-2 response from the Bears reduced the lead to 8-7, but F&M countered with a 10-0 run to lead by 11 points. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, but a 12-1 stretch from the Diplomats gave them a 20-point lead for the first time of the game with 4:24 to go. F&M eventually led by 22 at halftime. 

The teams traded buckets to start the second half, but Ursinus began work back into the game via a 10-3 run to trail 53-41 with nearly 12 minutes left. A later seven-point run for the Bears saw them force four turnovers from F&M, and they now trailed by seven points with 5:31 to go. A three with three minutes to go shrunk the advantage to 63-58. The teams traded buckets to leave the gap at five with 90 seconds left. After being charged with an offensive foul, Grauslys was the first to a missed three attempt from Ursinus, and he took the ball to the rim for an uncontested layup and a seven-point lead. Nowoswiat drew a foul on the next Bears possession, and he converted both free throws for a nine-point lead with 50 seconds left. F&M maintained the lead to the end of the contest. A full recap is available here.

Last Time vs. Johns Hopkins

The Diplomats made use a 13-point run to begin the second half, breaking the 14-game losing run to Johns Hopkins, 66-56, last month at the Mayser Center.  Nowoswiat recorded 24 points, shooting 9-of-13 on field goals, while Grauslys contributed seven assists, three steals, ten points, and two blocked shots. Seidman recorded ten rebounds, seven points, and two blocked shots. Charles had a team-best 11 rebounds, while Dylan Cormac shot 3-of-5 (60.0%) on threes, leading the team. F&M claimed an early 5-3 lead, but a fouled Blue Jays player converted on all three of his free throws to give them the lead. The teams traded baskets for a spell, but an 8-1 Diplomats run put them ahead 17-12 with 8:51 to go. The lead shrank to 23-21 by halftime. F&M began the second half with 13-unanswered points, including threes from Nowoswiat, Grauslys, and Cormac. The Blue Jays eventually began to maintain the gap, but they trailed 46-32 with eight minutes to go. They closed the gap to ten, but F&M countered nearly every Hopkins attempt to get back into the game, as they still trailed 61-48 with two minutes left. The Blue Jays withdrew their starters with 1:43 left, and they closed the game on an 8-1 run for the 66-56 final score. F&M shots 52.0% from the field  and 58.3% on threes in the second half while outrebounding their opponents 42-28 across the game. A full recap is available here.

Johns Hopkins Team Preview

The Blue Jays (17-9, 10-3 Centennial) prevailed in an overtime clash against third-seed Gettysburg in Friday's semifinal, 69-67, to advance to their seventh-consecutive championship game. Down 67-64 with a minute left in overtime, a layup got them back within a point. After denying Gettysburg twice, Wyatt Eglinton Manner scored a basket with 11 seconds left for a one-point lead. Luke Thorburn drew a charging call from the Bullets. John Windley would convert 1-of-2 free throws for a 69-67 lead. Gettysburg's jump shot at the buzzer missed. Eglinton Manner led the team with a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Brian Johansson posted 12 points and seven rebounds. 

The Blue Jays have found success off the glass this year with a conference-best 8.3 rebounding margin, although they have the second-lowest turnover margin (2.27). They also have the third-best scoring offense (74.5 points per game), second-best field goal defense (40.7%), and the second-best third-point field goal percentage (35.4%). Windley leads the Centennial Conference in threes per game (2.4) and ranks tenth in the conference in points per game (14.1). Charlie Jackson is fourth in rebounds per game (6.3).

Last Week

The Diplomats booked the first seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament with their 64-59 win over Gettysburg on Saturday. Kevin Nowoswiat posted a career-high 32 points, shooting 11-of-20 (55.0%) on field goals and 9-of-10 on free throws alongside nine rebounds and three assists. Vakaris Grauslys posted 16 points, two steals, and four rebounds, while John Seidman had a team-high four steals with nine rebounds and seven points. F&M led 11-3 to open the game, but the Bullets consistently closed the gap to 21-20 with eight minutes left. The teams traded buckets to a 30-28 scoreline in favor of F&M at halftime. F&M opened the second half with back-to-back threes, and they maintained a modest lead through the opening ten minutes. Gettysburg scored six straight to close the gap to one point at 44-43, although five points from Nowoswiat over the next couple of minutes gave F&M a four-point advantage with 5:26 left. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, but F&M used a Dylan Cormac three and Nowoswiat jumper to lead by seven. A couple of threes from Gettysburg closed the lead back down to a single point with 18 seconds left. Grauslys was fouled off an in-bounded ball, and he sank both free throws for a three-point lead. Gettysburg's attempt to tie the game with a three with five seconds left was inaccurate, and Nowoswiat earned a rebound and foul to seal the game. A full recap is available here. 

After a deadlock at the halftime break, F&M outscored Dickinson 38-22 in the second half of their win over the Red Devils on Wednesday night. Grauslys recorded 18 points, three steals, and three assists, while Seidman totaled 17 points with three steals. Nowoswiat led the team with four steals and recorded nine points with three assists. Sebastien Charles posted nine points, shooting 3-of-6 on threes. F&M scored the first five points of the game, and they pushed their lead to 14-8 in the early moments. A five-point run for Dickinson brought the lead down to 22-21, and they earned their first lead of the night on a three at 27-26 entering the final minutes of the half. A three from Asad Syed put the Diplomats back ahead for a moment, as a driving Red Devils layup at the halftime buzzer put the teams level at 31. F&M posted the first 12 points of the second half, including seven from Nowoswiat. Dickinson got back into the game with a 10-3 run to close within five points down 46-41, but F&M soon pushed their lead back to double figures at 58-48. F&M outscored Dickinson 9-3 in the final minutes. A full recap is available here. 

Last Time vs. Ursinus

F&M maintained a steady advantage for most of their 72-58 win over the Bears earlier this month. Five Diplomats reached double figures, led by a 17-point night for Grauslys. He also totaled four steals. Seidman posted 14 points, four assists, and eight rebounds. Others to reach double digits include Nowoswiat (12), Josh Parra (11), and Sam Davison (11, career high). F&M began the game with a 14-2 run through the first eight minutes, forcing seven Ursinus turnovers over that period of time. The Bears used a timeout to full effect with a 10-point swing to get back within two with eight minutes remaining in the first half. F&M followed this up with a 10-2 run in a two minute span for a 24-14 advantage. In the last five minutes, Ursinus outscored F&M 14-10, trailing 34-28 at halftime. Davison recorded ten points in the first half. The lead hovered between a half dozen and a dozen points for much of the second half before F&M concluded the game with seven uncontested points in the last two minutes. A full recap is available here.  

Ursinus Team Preview

The fourth-seeded Bears (17-9, 9-4 Centennial) are through to the Centennial Conference Semifinal Round for the first time since 2021-22 following Tuesday's home win over fifth-seeded Swarthmore, 89-67. Mohamed Toure had a 20-point night, scoring 18 of those points in the first half. He also totaled six rebounds and two steals. Nick Nocito had an 18-point, ten-rebound double-double with five assists, while Luke Nieman (13) and Trevor Wall (12) also reached double figures. The Bears responded to a game-opening Swarthmore three with nine consecutive points. The Garnet broke the run with another three, but this was followed by a 12-2 run from Ursinus who now led 21-8 with 12:12 to go in the first period. They eventually pushed their lead to a first-half high of 31-17. Swarthmore closed the gap with an 11-4 stretch, but the Bears concluded the half with eight of the final 11 points, leading 43-31 at the intermission. After trading buckets to begin the second half, Ursinus pulled away with a 10-3 run, leading 56-39 through the first seven minutes. Their lead reached 20 points with 10:43 left, and Swarthmore got no closer than 13 in the remaining time. Ursinus shot 48.0% (24-of-50) on field goals, 50.0% (10-of-20) on threes, and 72.1% (31-of-43) on free throws while outrebounding the Garnet 45-33.  Swarthmore were kept to a 30.8% (20-of-65) field goal percentage.

The Bears' offense leads the conference by averaging 82.1 points per game, and 21.8 of those points come from Wall who leads the conference in points per game, ranking 18th in the country. They have the fourth-best scoring margin (4.4), and their defense leaks the second-most points per game (77.7) among Centennial sides. The team has the conference's best field goal percentage (48.3%), third-best rebounding margin (5.1), second-most assists per game (14.73), and third-most steals per game (7.42). Cole Grubbs ranks third in rebounds per game (6.7) and second in blocked shots per game (1.9), while Nocito leads the conference assists per game (5.7), ranking 12th across DIII. Wall is also third in steals per game (2.5). 

F&M Among Centennial Conference Sides (As of 3/1/25)

1st in Points Allowed Per Game (60.9) - 8th in DIII
1st in Scoring Margin (10.3) - 41st in DIII
1st in Turnover Margin (2.58)
1st in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.07)
2nd in Field Goal Percentage (45.5%)
2nd in Steals Per Game (8.92)
2nd in Opponent Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (28.8%)
3rd in Assists Per Game (13.04)
3rd in Opponent Field Goal Percentage (41.1%)
5th in Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (34.2%)
5th in Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (7.8)

F&M Individuals in the Centennial Conference Top 10 (As of 3/1/25)

Points Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (19.4)

Rebounds Per Game
1. Kevin Nowoswiat (7.1)
7. Josh Parra (6.0)

Field Goal Percentage
4. Kevin Nowoswiat (52.3%)

Free Throw Percentage
9. Vakaris Grauslys (52.3%)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
5. Dylan Cormac (2.0)

Assists Per Game
4. Vakaris Grauslys (3.0)
6. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.9)
9. John Seidman (2.7)

Assist/Turnover Ratio
2. Vakaris Grauslys (1.6)

Blocked Shots Per Game
9. Josh Parra (1.0)

Steals Per Game
2. Vakaris Grauslys (2.5) - T-27th in DIII

Minutes Per Game
5. Kevin Nowoswiat (33.1)
6. Vakaris Grauslys (32.3)
10. John Seidman (30.6)