Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (1-2) plays a pair of games in the third week of the season, including Wednesday night's home opener to Lancaster Bible. They'll also travel to Reading to face Albright on Friday night.  

Last Week

The Diplomats played a single game last week, as F&M lost 86-80 at Elizabethtown last Wednesday night. Josh Parra recorded a second consecutive double-double, as he posted 23 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 81.8% on field goals. Vakaris Grauslys and Kevin Nowoswiat each had 17 points. John Seidman totaled 14 points and six rebounds.

Trailing 28-21 with 8:13 in the first half, the Diplomats cut the lead to two points within ninety seconds thanks to four points from Seidman, and a jumper and layup from Nowoswiat. Etown maintained the pace to the halftime break with a narrow 41-39 advantage. Etown scored the first six points of the second half. Down 53-42 later on, a Grauslys three opened a 10-3 run for F&M, keeping the lead around four points over the next few minutes. A 12-5 stretch in the middle for the Blue Jays put their lead at 68-57. The Diplomats got within five points with a minute to go. A three from Sebastien Charles and a Grauslys free throw cut the deficit to two. The Blue Jays confirmed the win by sinking four free throws in the last 15 seconds.

Last Time vs. Lancaster Bible

F&M made it four wins in a row to open the 2023-24 season with an 82-71 win at Lancaster Bible last November. Vakaris Grauslys and Kevin Nowoswiat each had 18 points, with Nowoswiat converting 7-of-8 field goals. Omar Nichols had 17 points, including three three-point shots. John Seidman had a team-high nine assists, while Josh Parra led the team with seven rebounds. Jaylen Green contributed ten points from the bench.

To open the game, neither team led by more than four points in the opening four minutes, with two lead changes and three ties. The Chargers got ahead 24-17 thanks to a seven-point run. This was immediately followed by a seven-point run from the Diplomats. F&M outscored the hosts 12-1 in the final six minutes for a 36-27 lead at the break. The Chargers shot two threes to open the second half and continued to reduce the deficit down to a four-point gap three minutes in. F&M reached its first double-digit lead of the game four points later, pushing as far as 17 points with nine minutes left.  Lancaster Bible got no closer than nine points the rest of the way. The full recap is available here.  

Lancaster Bible Team Preview

The Chargers begin week 3 following a 1-1 week with an 87-84 overtime loss against Lebanon Valley on Wednesday earning the team's first win of 2024-25 79-77 against Pitt.-Greensburg on Saturday. 

Lancaster Bible gradually conceded a 15-point advantage in the overtime defeat against Lebanon Valley, with a Dutchmen layup with 39 seconds to go tying things up for the first time in the game to force the game to go past regulation. The teams traded buckets in the opening spell, with Lancaster Bible trailing 79-78 with 2:30 to play. From there, Lebanon Valley posted six-straight points on two layups and a pair of free throws, giving them a seven point cushion with 0:50 on the clock. Back-to-back Chargers threes erased the lead down to a single point with 30 seconds to work with. Lancaster Bible stole the ball following a timeout, but missed their jump shot and did not earn the rebound. Lebanon Valley drew a foul with three seconds to go, and sank both free throws to confirm an 87-84 loss for Lancaster Bible. Grant Sareyka led the offense with 18 points, shooting 7-for-18 from the field with four three pointers. Camden Hurst totaled eight assists and ten points. Connor Storr totaled three steals and 11 points. Daniel King led bench points with eight, including three steals.

The Chargers fell behind 10-2 early but soon worked back to a 16-15 lead on a Storr steal and layup. By halftime, they led 43-29. Five points from Hurst to kick off the second half pushed the lead to 48-33, with a Reaves Hooks three-pointer stretching the lead to 18 with 16:30 to play. Over the next eight minutes, the Bobcats cut into the lead, taking control of the game at 59-59 with eight minutes to go. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, with two three's from Sareyka and Hurst late on proving pivotal. A King free throw secured the win 79-77, with the Bobcats missing a last-ditch three attempt. Sareyka again led points with 15 including six rebounds. Tyshaun Pulley totaled 12 points off the bench, shooting 5-of-8 on field goals. Maureon Tisdale-Couch led the team with eight rebounds. 

Among United East players, Sareyka is averaging the 13th most points per game (16.7) and the third-most three-pointers per game (2.7).  Hurst is third in assists per game (4.0), while Storr is averaging the fourth-most blocked shots per game (1.3).

Last Time vs. Albright

F&M hosted Albright in a 79-66 win in early December last season. Nowoswiat had a team-high 20 points, while Nicols and Parra each had 16 points. Nichols converted four of seven shots from beyond the arc, while Parra totaled 10 rebounds for a double-double. Logan Satlow had seven rebounds and eight points from the bench. 

Down 3-2 to start, F&M took the next six points and didn't cede the lead the rest of the way. A 9-1 run at 8-5 brought the lead into the double-digits eight minutes in. The teams followed this by trading 7-2 runs. The Lions then strung seven points to cut the deficit to four. Nichols countered with a three and two converted free throws to push the lead to nine. Albright cut the lead to five at halftime. The teams traded buckets early in the second half, with Albright six points down through six minutes. F&M consistently pushed to an 18-point lead over the next eight minutes, with the lead going no lower than a 12-point advantage the rest of the way. The full recap is available here.  

Albright Team Preview

The Lions went 1-2 in their second week of the 2024-25 campaign, beginning with a 64-59 win over (RV) Swarthmore. On the weekend, they fell to Connecticut College on Friday 73-50 before suffering a 90-84 defeat to Baruch on Saturday in the College of New Jersey Tournament. 

The win over Swarthmore featured seven ties and 13 lead changes by the time the Lions earned the 64-59 win over the Garnet. Swarthmore pushed out to a 18-11 lead in the opening 11 minutes, with fighting back to a 28-26 halftime lead. Swarthmore pushed out to a six-point lead through the first ten minutes of the second half, but Albright fought back to retake the lead within four minutes on a layup plus an and-one from Eric Chamberlain. Swarthmore took control on a three with two minutes left to lead 59-58, but layups from Chamberlain and Qadir Mitchell gave Albright control in the final moments. 23 points for Albright came via fastbreaks, while the bench contributed 24 points. Swarthmore was held to a 28.8% field goal percentage by the Albright defense.  Phanique Dupree led the offense with 13 points alongside a team-best eight rebounds, and five blocks. Chris Kouemi totaled ten points with two blocks, four rebounds, and a steal. Chamberlain posted 12 points with two steals, while Connor Fields collected three steals in just 14 minutes. 

Albright found themselves in a 39-22 deficit at halftime against Connecticut College on Friday, with the Camels shooting 44.0% from the field in the first half.  Dupree marked his third straight game with double-digit points, totaling 14 points with ten rebounds for his first double-double. Isaac LaPierre was perfect on four throws and a three attempt for seven points, while Kouemi had seven rebounds and four points. 

After a back-and-forth first half against Baruch,  they found themselves trailing by double digits in the middle stages of the second half. They closed the gap to three points with four minutes to go but could get no closer. Chamberlain led the offense with 17 points, going 8-for-20 on field goals. Kouemi (13 points, nine rebounds), Dupree (11 points, three blocks), Akhir Keys (11 points, three three-pointers made), and Mitchell (10 points) also achieve double-digit points totals. 

Among MAC Commonwealth players, Chamberlain and Dupree average the tenth-most points per game (13.8). Dupree is third in rebounds per game (8.5) and second in blocked shots per game (4.3). His blocked shot average is sixth-best in the country. Chamberlain ranks tied for second in steals per game (2.3), tied for fifth in rebounds per game (3.0), and tied for third in assist/turnover ratio (2.0).

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

Points Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (22.7)
10. Josh Parra (16.7)

Rebounds Per Game
1. Josh Parra (10.3)
9. John Seidman (6.7)

Field Goal Percentage
T2. Josh Parra (62.5%)
9. Kevin Nowoswiat (50.0%)

Free Throw Percentage
7. Vakaris Grauslys (81.8%)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
8. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.3)

Assists Per Game
4. Vakaris Grauslys (2.3)
T8. John Seidman (0.9)

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

Steals Per Game
T6. Vakaris Grauslys (1.7)

Minutes Per Game
1. Kevin Nowoswiat (36.7)
4. Vakarius Grauslys (34.3)
5. John Seidman (33.7)