Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (13-6, 5-2 Centennial) carries a four-game winning streak heading into a week where they'll face two strong opponents in Ursinus (12-7, 5-2 Centennial) and Swarthmore (13-6, 5-2 Centennial). F&M earned a pair of double figure wins on the road last week, defeating Washington College 65-37 on Wednesday and McDaniel 69-57 on Saturday. 

Last Week

The Diplomats stretched their current winning streak to four with away wins last week over Washington College and McDaniel. 

F&M kept the Shoremen offense to just 37 points in their 65-37 win over Washington College on Wednesday. It's the lowest points allowed figure for the Diplomats since defeating Dickinson 64-34 in the 2012-13 regular season finale. Kevin Nowoswiat totaled 16 points and ten rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. John Seidman collected 13 points, three assists, and three steals. Vakaris Grauslys had five steals and nine points, while Carter Lawrence scored eight points in nine minutes from the bench. After Washington opened scoring, the Diplomats went on a 12-0 run to lead 12-2 early on. Washington closed the gap to 14-7, and the teams traded buckets to the end of the half. F&M led 28-20 at halftime. Franklin & Marshall opened the second half with a 10-2 run to push the lead to 38-22. The Diplomats maintained the lead through the middle of the second half before stretching the advantage to 22 thanks to a seven-point run. An 11-point run from F&M pushed the lead to 30. The Diplomats shot 60.9% on field goals in the second half, while Washington College was kept to 28.6%. F&M outrebounded their opponents 44-24. A full recap is available here.

A strong second half performance earned the Diplomats a 69-57 victory at McDaniel on Saturday. Nowoswiat posted 24 points, shooting 10-of-17 (58.8%) on field goals. Seidman recorded 15 points with a team-high in steals (3) and blocked shots (2). Grauslys posted 11 points and a team-best six rebounds, while Josh Parra recorded ten points. The first half saw nine lead changes, six ties, and no lead bigger than four points. F&M held an 11-10 through the opening ten minutes, but McDaniel controlled the next spell, leading 18-14 thanks to a 5-0 run. A seven-point run gave F&M a 21-18 lead, and they eventually carried a 30-26 lead into the intermission. The Green Terror struck for nine points to kick off the second half, leading 35-30. The teams traded points for a bit, as the Diplomats soon found momentum with a nine-point run that featured six Nowoswiat points to lead 47-45. He scored four more points over the next few possessions, pushing the lead to 52-47. A 6-0 run put the lead at 65-52 with 80 seconds left before earning the 69-57 win. A full recap is available here.

Last Time vs. Ursinus

F&M nearly clawed back from a double-figure deficit against Ursinus before falling 67-65 in Collegeville, leaving the series at a split. Grauslys broke the program record for free throws made by converting 17 in the loss, and he totaled 28 points overall. Jalyen Green had 12 points from the bench, while Parra led the team with eight rebounds. Nowoswiat led F&M with three steals. 

Ursinus led 10-6 through the opening minutes, but a 6-1 Diplomat run including threes from Green and Sebastien Charles put F&M ahead for the first time of the game at 12-11. Ursinus countered during a seven-minute scoreless run for F&M to lead 16-12. An Omar Nichols three brought F&M back within one at 18-17, and the teams traded buckets the rest of the half. F&M tied the game at 26-26 before going into the break down 28-26.

Ursinus held a narrow lead to start the second half before going on a 9-0 run that put them ahead 45-34 and then 50-39 with 11:48 left. A six-point Diplomats run over the next two minutes narrowed the lead to five, and the lead hovered around that margin over the next few minutes. A Grauslys three with two minutes to go closed the gap to 60-59, but F&M found themselves trading buckets and unable to draw level the rest of the way. A Nichols go-ahead three at the buzzer was unsuccessful for a 67-65 final score. A full recap is available here.  

Ursinus Team Preview

The Bears (12-7, 5-2 Centennial) went 1-1 last week, falling 78-71 in the midweek at Swarthmore before earning a 79-72 win against Dickinson in Collegeville on Saturday. 

Trevor Wall recorded 27 points in the loss to Swarthmore, while Mohamed Toure and Nick Nocitio each chipped in 11 points. Nocito posted eight assists. An 8-0 run for Swarthmore gave them a 20-10 lead with 13:30 to go in the first half. Their lead stretched to 13 at 37-24 before the Bears used a 13-4 run to get within six points at halftime. An eight-point run for the Bears early in the second half gave them a 55-53 lead with 10:45, setting up a phase of the teams trading baskets. After falling behind 69-62, Ursinus posted six unanswered points to get within one with 1:44 to go. They tied the game with a three, but Swarthmore scored seven unanswered over the final minute.

Wall scored 24 points in the win over Dickinson, marking the sixth-consecutive game where he recorded 20-plus points. He also recorded five steals, four assists, and four rebounds. Luke Nieman had 20 points from the bench, going 6-of-11 (54.5%) on field goals and 4-of-9 (44.4%) on threes. Nocitio recorded 13 points, five assists, and three rebounds. The Bears led 13-7 through the opening seven minutes and maintained the gap to a 16-10 advantage with 12:00 left. During this opening stretch, Wall accounted for 13 of the team's 16 points. A 8-2 run from Dickinson tied things up at 18, but Ursinus countered with five points. Later on, the Red Devils took the lead at 30-28 via a 7-0 run. The teams traded buckets to halftime, with the Bears holding a 41-38 at the break. A dunk from Marlin Wise kicked off a 6-0 run in the second half for Ursinus, giving them a 47-38 lead within 90 seconds. A 9-3 run for Dickinson swung the lead back their way at 58-55 with 10:30 to go. From there, a 7-0 run from Ursinus was countered by a 6-1 run from Dickinson, giving the Red Devils a 64-63 lead with six minutes left. Down 69-68, the Bears recorded eight unanswered points for a 76-69 lead with a minute to go. 

The Bears have the best scoring offense in the Centennial Conference, averaging 81.8 points per game, although they are leaking the second-most points of any side in the conference at 78.9 points allowed per game. They lead the conference in field goal percentage (48.7%), assist/turnover ratio (1.07), and assists per game (15.16), and they rank third in rebounding margin (4.8). Wall is leading the conference offensively by averaging 22.6 points per game, and the mark ranks 21st across Division III. Wall ranks third in steals per game (2.3) in the conference. Nocito leads the conference in assists per game (5.7) and assist/turnover ratio (1.7). His assists per game figure ranks 13th in DIII. Cole Grubbs ranks second in rebounds per game (7.3) and is only behind Nowoswiat's 7.6 rebounds per game. He is also second in blocked shots per game (2.1).

Last Time vs. Swarthmore

The Garnet delivered F&M their biggest conference loss of the 2023-24 season with a 75-50 defeat for the Diplomats on the road last season. Nowoswiat totaled 17 points, shooting 6-of-13 field goals with three three-pointers. Seidman had a team-best five rebounds and four assists.

F&M trailed 12-9 through the first six minutes, but an 11-0 run for Swarthmore gave them a 23-9 advantage. A Vakaris layup broke the run for a moment, as the Garnet scored nine straight this time to lead by 21. F&M closed the gap to 15 and eventually trailed 40-21 at halftime. 

F&M could not score in the first three minutes of the second half, as the Garnet pushed their advantage to 26. Down 49-24, F&M closed the gap with a 12-3 run to make it 52-36 with 13 minutes left. Swarthmore reached a 20-point lead again with 7:23 to go and pushed out to a 75-50 scoreline. The Garnet outrebounded F&M 45-25 while shooting 48.4% on field goals. A full recap is available here.  

Swarthmore Team Preview

The Garnet (13-6, 5-2 Centennial) won both of their home Centennial Conference matchups last week, defeating Ursinus 78-71 on Wednesday before earning a 65-58 win over Muhlenberg. 

Against Ursinus, Zander Jimenez led the team with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Caleb Aurelien posted a career-best 15 points with seven rebounds. Eddie Paquette (12 PTS) and Brady Kageyama (11 PTS) also reached double figures. Aurelien recorded the first seven points for the Garnet, and they stretched out to a 25-13 early on in the game. During that run, Aurelien accounted for 13 points. Ursinus reduced the gap with a six-point run and later reduced the gap further with a 13-6 run over the final six minutes to trail 43-37 at halftime. The Garnet maintained their lead to kick off the second half, although Ursinus claimed the lead back via an 8-0 run, holding a 55-53 advantage with 10:45 left. From there, Swarthmore swung momentum back their way with eight of the next ten points, leading 63-59. Swarthmore stretched their lead to seven points entering the final four minutes, but Ursinus posted six straight to get back within a point. They tied things at 71 each with a minute left on a three, but Swarthmore posted seven unanswered points over the final minute. 

Jimenez recorded 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the win over Muhlenberg, while Devin Burger recorded 13 points and seven rebounds. A 9-0 run for the Garnet gave them a lead of 11-4 early on in the contest, although a 10-4 stretch from Muhlenberg got them back within two points. The Garnet knocked down three-straight baskets to lead by eight points with 4:40 remaining in the first half. The Mules closed the half on a 5-2 stretch, giving the Garnet a 28-23 lead at the break. Swarthmore kicked off the half with a 7-3 run, leading 35-26. The advantage became 11 points with 7:42 to go, but Muhlenberg used a 7-0 run to get back within four points with six minutes to work with. The Mules got within a score before the Garnet scored six unanswered, leading 58-50. Muhlenberg followed this with a 8-3 stretch, down just 61-58 with a minute to go. A three attempt from them missed the mark, and they fouled Swarthmore after not securing the rebound. Burger sank both of his free throws to give Swarthmore control of the game. 

The Garnet maintain the third-best scoring margin in the Centennial Conference at 5.8, and they have the best field goal defense in the conference (39.9%). Offensively, their three-pointer volume has been key, as they average the second-most threes per game (8.6). They also rank third from shooting the charity stripe (72.8%). Swarthmore have the second-best turnover margin (1.42). Jimenez is averaging the 11th-most points per game (14.4) among Centennial players, is the third best on free throws (83.1%), and ranks fifth in steals per game (1.6). Burger is sixth in rebounds per game (6.3), while Aidan Godfrey is averaging the third-most blocked shots per game (1.3).

F&M Among Centennial Conference Sides (As of 2/3/25)

1st in Scoring Margin (8.1)
1st in Points Allowed Per Game (63.2)
1st in Turnover Margin (2.32)
1st in Steals Per Game (8.89)
2nd in Field Goal Percentage (45.1%)
2nd in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.02)
3rd in Assists Per Game (13.05)
4th in Opponent Field Goal Percentage (41.9%)
4th in Opponent Field Goal Percentage (30.7%)
5th in Points Per Game (71.3)

F&M Individuals in the Centennial Conference Top 10 (As of 2/3/25)

Points Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (19.8)

Rebounds Per Game
1. Kevin Nowoswiat (7.6)
4. Josh Parra (6.7)

Field Goal Percentage 

4. Kevin Nowoswiat (52.7%)

Free Throw Percentage

9. Vakaris Grauslys (75.6%)

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

Assists Per Game
4. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.9)
T5. John Seidman (2.9)
8. Vakaris Grauslys (2.8)

Assist/Turnover Ratio
4. Kevin Nowowswiat (1.2)

Blocked Shots Per Game
6. Josh Parra (1.1)

Steals Per Game
1. Vakaris Grauslys (2.5)
6. Franklin Jones (1.4)
T7. Josh Parra (1.3)

Minutes Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (33.3)
7. Vakaris Grauslys (31.8)