Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (15-6, 7-2 Centennial) earned two key victories last week, beating Ursinus at home on Wednesday before shutting down Swarthmore's offense on the road on Saturday. The Diplomats begin the week with a six-game winning streak and conclude the home slate against Muhlenberg on Wednesday and Johns Hopkins on Saturday. 

Last Week

The Diplomats stretch their winning streak to six with a pair of victories over strong Centennial Conference foes, defeating Ursinus 72-58 on Wednesday and Swarthmore 80-48 on Saturday.

Vakaris Grauslys led the Diplomats with 17 points and four steals in the win over Ursinus. John Seidman posted 14 points, four assists, and eight rebounds. Three other Diplomats reached double figures including Kevin Nowoswiat (12), Josh Parra (11), and Sam Davison (11). F&M led 14-2 through the first eight minutes, forcing seven turnovers from Ursinus during this run. The Bears got right back into the game with a ten-point run to trail 14-12 with eight minutes left in the first half. The Diplomats followed this with a 10-2 stretch, and they eventually led 34-28 at halftime. The teams traded buckets to open the second half, with Ursinus trailing between half-a-dozen and a dozen points for much of the half. They got within six points with five minutes left, but a 7-0 run from F&M in the last two minutes secured the win. A full recap is available here.

A commanding first half performance saw F&M draw ahead by 26 points through the first 20 minutes in their 80-48 win over Swarthmore. Nowoswiat totaled 17 points, while Steve Donahue recorded a career-high 15 points from the bench. Grauslys recorded 15 points, six assists, and three steals, while Seidman totaled 13 points. The Diplomats shot 58.6% on field goals, 38.5% on threes, and 84.6% on free throws, kept turnovers to 4, and generated 14 points from turnovers in the first half. F&M opened the game on a 21-5 stretch. Grauslys opened the game with two driving layups followed by five straight points from the Garnet. Their lead lasted a possession, as F&M went on a 17-point run over the next six minutes that featured scoring from seven different Diplomats and five turnovers from Swarthmore. The Garnet kept pace for a few minutes, but the Diplomats went on a 13-3 run to now lead 46-21, eventually leading 50-24 at halftime. The F&M outscored Swarthmore 30-24 in the second half. By the end of the game, the Diplomats limited turnovers to nine while forcing 20 Garnet turnovers. From those giveaways, the Diplomats totaled 26 points. A full recap is available here.

Last Time vs. Muhlenberg

The Diplomats completed a season sweep of the Mules in commanding fashion with a 70-49 win at home last February. Parra posted a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Nowoswiat had four assists and 12 points. Jaylen Green had 11 points, including three three-pointers, while Omar Nichols also posted 11 points. Seidman had a team-high three steals. 

A 10-2 run early in the game put F&M ahead 12-8, while Muhlenberg closed the gap to four points over the next few minutes. From there, the Diplomats went on an 11-0 run with three three-pointers to lead by 15 points. The Mules got back within striking distance via a seven-point run, putting the score at 35-27 at halftime. 

F&M consistently pulled away during a 20-5 run to kick off the second half. Muhlenberg countered this with an 11-0 run, while F&M secured the game with a 9-2 stretch in response. The Diplomats outrebounded their opponents 43-26, which was the biggest margin of the season. Read the full recap here.  

Muhlenberg Team Preview

The Mules (8-13, 1-8 Centennial) dropped both of their Centennial Conference contests last week, falling 61-59 at Dickinson on Wednesday before losing 66-53 at home to (RV) Gettysburg on Saturday. 

Giovanni Rubino led the Muhlenberg attack in the last at Dickinson, totaling 28 points and sinking all ten of his free throws while posting eight rebounds. He also reached 1,500 career points. Arinze Achufusi contributed ten points. After trailing 32-26 at the halftime break and falling behind 39-28 through the opening three minutes of the second half, a 9-0 run for the Mules got them back within two points. Level at 46-46, back-to-back baskets from Achufusi gave Muhlenberg a 50-46 lead. Dickinson went on a 9-2 run over the next four minutes to lead 55-52 with two minutes left. Dickinson held a three-point lead when they fouled Rubino, who converted a jumper and sank a free throw after getting fouled to tie the game. The teams traded buckets, with Dickinson going ahead on a layup to leave 1.5 seconds for the Mules. Their three at the buzzer was unsuccessful.

A 14-0 run from Gettysburg in the second half proved the difference, as the Mules lost 66-53 on Saturday. Rubio posted 14 points, while Peter Stanton-Shepherd recorded 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Elias Sherman-Murphy reached ten points in his first career start. A contested first half saw Gettysburg lead by as much as seven before heading into the halftime break ahead 26-21. The Mules opened the second half with a 9-3 run to claim a one-point lead through four minutes. Muhlenberg kept pace early on in the second half, leading 39-37 with 11:18 to go. The Mules went on an eight-minute spell where they were unable to score, while Gettysburg posted 14 uncontested points to cruise the rest of the way. 

Rubino ranks third in the Centennial Conference in points per game, averaging 17.9 per contest. He is the conference's best from the charity stripe (88.2%), while he ranks sixth in field goal percentage (48.7%) and second in assists per game (4.3). Rubino is also seeing the most time of any Centennial Conference player, averaging 34.3 minutes per game. Luke Gordos is tied for fifth in blocked shots per game (1.1).

Last Time vs. Johns Hopkins

Nowoswiat recorded a career-high 30 points in the loss to Johns Hopkins one month ago. He was a perfect 9-of-9 on free throws, 9-of-13 on field goals, and 3-of-4 on threes while leading the team with five assists. Seidman posted a season-high 17 points, while Dylan Cormac contributed nine points via three threes from the bench. Charles led F&M with two blocked shots and six rebounds in his first start of the year.

The Blue Jays built an 8-2 lead through the first four minutes before stretching the lead to 7-17 with 12:30 left in the first half. F&M followed this with a 16-3 run over the next five minutes with two threes from Seidman to lead 23-20 for their first lead of the game. The teams traded buckets for the rest of the half, with F&M eventually leading 31-29 at the halftime intermission. 

Neither team led by more than two points through the first 9:30 of the second half, After six ties and seven lead changes, Johns Hopkins broke away via an 11-2 run over a three-minute spell. Nowoswiat brought the lead within five points with five points of his own, but the Blue Jays soon led by double figures again. F&M got no closer than four points before falling 77-70. F&M lost the rebound battle 37-28 and struggled with 17 turnovers.

Johns Hopkins Team Preview

The Blue Jays (14-7, 8-1 Centennial) had a week of mixed results, as they earned a pivotal win over (RV) Gettysburg on Wednesday before their nine-game winning streak was snapped by Ursinus on Saturday. 

Brian Johansson and Charlie Jackson each had 17 points in the win over the Bullets, while Wyatt Eglington Manner posted 16 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. John Windley contributed eight points and eight rebounds. The teams traded buckets to open the contest with a scoreline of 14-14 through the first seven minutes. Gettysburg went on a 9-2 run with three triples over the next few minutes to lead 23-16, and they eventually carried a 36-32 lead into the halftime break. The Blue Jays opened the second half on a 14-8 stretch through the first seven minutes to claim the lead at 46-44. Jackson scored seven points for Johns Hopkins during the run. Gettysburg retook the lead with a 9-5 run, but this was directly countered by nine-straight points from the Blue Jays who now led 60-53 with six minutes remaining. The Bullets reduced the gap to two with two minutes left, but the Blue Jays scored seven straight points to lead by nine points with a minute left. 

Ursinus brought the Blue Jays' nine-game winning run to close in a 89-79 loss on Saturday. Johansson and Windley each recorded 17 points, while Jackson totaled 16. Ursinus gained a 13-9 lead through the early stages of the game, but Johns Hopkins scored six points in 90 seconds to claim a 15-13 lead. The Bears followed this with a 10-2 run to lead by six, while Johns Hopkins drew level with a 6-0 run for a 23-23 game with 6:29 remaining in the period. A 13-5 run to close the half for the Bears gave them a 42-35 lead at the break. A 16-5 run early in the second half for Ursinus pushed their lead to 62-44, while an 11-0 run from Johns Hopkins cut the gap to 65-59 with 8:35 to go. The Bears pushed their lead to 12 over the next five minutes, and this was followed by a 9-2 stretch for the Blue Jays to get back within five points entering the final 90 seconds, but they got no closer. 

The Blue Jays have the second best scoring margin in the Centennial Conference (6.6), ranking only behind F&M. Johns Hopkins have the conference's best rebounding margin (8.8) and best record from the free-throw line (75.1%), two categories where they hold a strong advantage over the Diplomats. They rank ninth in turnover margin (-2.48), while the Diplomats lead the conference (2.76). Windley ranks fourth in the conference in points per game (16.4), while Jackson is fourth in rebounds per game (6.4). They have the two highest volume three-point shooters in the Centennial Conference, as Windley averages 2.8 threes per game and Johansson posts 2.2 threes per game. 

F&M Among Centennial Conference Sides (As of 2/10/25)

1st in Points Allowed Per Game (62.2) - 11th in DIII
1st in Scoring Margin (9.5) - 47th in DIII
1st in Turnover Margin (2.76)
1st in Steals Per Game (8.95)
2nd in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.06)
2nd in Field Goal Percentage (45.3%)
3rd in Assists Pet Game (13.24)
4th in Opponent Field Goal Percentage (41.6%)
4th in Opponent Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (29.5%)
5th in Points Per Game (71.7)
5th in Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (33.6%)

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

Points Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (19.3)

Rebounds Per Game
1. Kevin Nowoswiat (7.2)
5. Josh Parra (6.4)

Field Goal Percentage 

4. Kevin Nowoswiat (51.9%)

Free Throw Percentage

9. Vakaris Grauslys (77.3%)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
9. Dylan Cormac (1.9)

Assists Per Game
4.  John Seidman (2.9)
5. Vakaris Grauslys (2.9)
T6. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.8)

Assist/Turnover Ratio
3. John Seidman (1.5)

Blocked Shots Per Game
T7. Josh Parra (1.0)

Steals Per Game
1. Vakaris Grauslys (2.6) - 24th in DIII
6. Franklin Jones (1.4)

Minutes Per Game
4. Kevin Nowoswiat (33.0)
6. Vakaris Grauslys (32.0)