Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (1-1) plays one contest this week with a Wednesday night trip to Elizabethtown (0-1). The Diplomats split results in week one at the Penn State Tip-Off Classic in Middletown. They lost to open the season on Saturday to hosts Penn State Harrisburg before earning an overtime victory against Albertus Magnus.

Last Week

F&M split the Penn State Tip-Off Classic weekend to open 2024-25, with a 64-59 to tournament hosts Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday before earning an 88-85 overtime win against Albertus Magnus on Sunday.

After holding a 36-24 lead in the first half against the Lions, F&M were outscored 40-23 in the second half, with F&M shooting 30.4% from the field and 10.0% on three-pointers in the second half. F&M was also outrebounded 26-14 in the second half. Kevin Nowoswiat scored 22 points with three three-pointers, while Vakaris Grauslys totaled 21 points, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. John Seidman had two blocks and seven points. The F&M bench went 0-for-8 on three-point field goals.

The Diplomats maintained the pace in overtime for an 88-85 win over Albertus Magnus. Franklin Jones opened the scoring in the period, followed by an Albertus Magnus layup. Para scored on a layup for an 84-82 lead, and the Diplomats did not cede the lead the rest of the way. The game remained tight throughout, with F&M building out to a 12-point lead in the first half for the biggest margin of the game. The Diplomats also found themselves ahead by 11 points with 9:30 to play, but a ten-point Falcons run gave them a 78-77 lead. Josh Parra converted a layup, followed by a Grauslys layup for a two-point lead with 23 seconds to go, but Albertus Magnus scored a layup to initiate overtime. Nowoswiat had a career-high 29 points, his second time setting a career-high last weekend. He converted 10 of 16 field goals and 3 of 5 three-pointers. Parra had 20 points, while Seidman led the team with seven rebounds alongside eight points and four assists. Grauslys had nine points, four assists, and two steals, while Steve Donahue led bench points with eight.

Last Time vs. Elizabethtown

F&M earned a 79-50 win over Etown in the second week of the 2023-24 season, utilizing a 44-19 second half to power past the Blue Jays. Omar Nichols had a team-high 14 points including four three's. Sebastien Charles totaled nine boards and 12 points, while Seidman had eight assists and four steals. Grauslys also posted 12 points. F&M were 26 of 49 on field goals and 12 of 25 on three-pointers. F&M struggled early on in the first half, trailing 16-12 during an opening spell with seven turnovers. The Diplomats broke through with an 11-0 run including a trio of three-point shots. to go ahead 21-16. Back-to-back Nichols threes put F&M up 27-21. Etown narrowed the lead to 35-31 at halftime. F&M returned from the break with a 10-1 run, while they kept the Blue Jays to 1-of-16 from the field in the opening nine minutes.  F&M continued to pull away and allowed just one converted shot for Etown in the last seven minutes. The full recap is available here.  

Elizabethtown Team Preview

The Blue Jays traveled to King's (Pa.) to open the 2024-25 season, falling 110-98 on Friday night. Austin Finarelli led the team, totaling 25 points with a 56.3% field goal percentage, while Rance Russo contributed 24 points, going 3-for-5 beyond the arc. EJ Finney had 19 points, converting 7-of-10 field goals with a team-high five assists and three steals. Alon Gorgam led bench points with 14, including three three-point shots. Etown trailed 53-48 at the break, staying close in the opening stages of the second half. King's extended their lead to 85-71, with Etown only able to close the margin as close as nine points before falling by the 110-98 scoreline. King's were an efficient 59.7% on field goals and 50.0% on threes, while Elizabethtown shot 51.5% on field goals and struggled to a 28.0% three-point percentage. The Blue Jays return to All-Landmark Conference players from a season ago, as guards Russo and Finarelli earned Honorable Mention recognition. Last season, Russo was fifth in points per game (16.0) and Finarelli was seventh (14.9) among Landmark players. Finarelli also had the third-most steals per game (2.3). 

F&M Individuals in Centennial Conference Top 10 (As of 11/10/24)

Points Per Game
1. Kevin Nowoswiat (25.5)
T7. Vakaris Grauslys (15.0)

Rebounds Per Game
1. Josh Parra (10.0)
T5. John Seidman (7.0)

Field Goal Percentage
3. Kevin Nowoswiat (61.3%)
T6. Josh Parra (52.4%)

Three-Point Field Goal Percentage
3. Kevin Nowoswiat (46.2%)

Free Throw Percentage
4. Vakaris Grauslys (91.7%)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
T3. Kevin Nowoswiat (3.0)

Assists Per Game
T3. Vakaris Grauslys (4.0)
5. John Seidman (3.5)

Assists/Turnover Ratio
3. Vakaris Grauslys (2.7)
5. John Seidman (0.8)

Blocked Shots Per Game
T5. Franklin Jones (1.0)
T5. John Seidman (1.0)

Minutes Per Game
1. Kevin Nowoswiat (36.5)
2. John Seidman (35.0)
4. Vakaris Grauslys (33.0)