Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (4-2) carries a three-game win streak into the Christopher Newport Tournament weekend. They beat Goucher 76-57 in the midweek (Recap available here) and kick off the Christopher Newport Holiday INNvitational against Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday.

Last Week

The Diplomats earned a pair of wins last week, defeating Lancaster Bible on Wednesday night 86-60 before earning a 71-68 win over Albright on Friday evening.

 Josh Parra recorded a third-consecutive double-double in the win over Lancaster Bible with 15 points and 11 rebounds along with three blocked shots. Kevin Nowoswiat was 9-of-13 on field goals as he collected a 21-point, ten-rebound double-double. Franklin Jones posted ten points, while Vakaris Grauslys had a team-best five assists and four steals. John Seidman had nine points, three steals, six rebounds, and three assists. F&M led 11-2 in the opening four minutes and countered six straight Chargers points with seven points of their own to lead 18-8. A gap of around ten points held to halftime. Returning from the break, F&M used a ten-point run highlighted by a Grauslys to Jones alley-oop to build a comfortable margin. A Chargers jumper broke the run for a moment, as F&M scored eight straight this time, including an Alex Berry dunk. The high pressing, and high intensity present in the game resulted in 35 total turnovers, and both teams totaling over 20 fouls. 

 Four players totaled double-digits in the win over Albright. Nowoswiat had 15 points, shooting 6-of-14 field goals and 3-of-5 threes. Grauslys had 13 points and three steals with two threes. Seidman posted 13 points with five rebounds, a pair of threes, and 5-of-7 field goals. Parra had 11 points. Off the bench, Sebastien Charles had nine points and five rebounds, while Berry contributed eight points and two threes. The game started tightly contested with four ties early on in the first half. A Berry three with three minutes left put F&M up 27-25, a lead they built up to 34-29 at the halftime break. The Diplomats shot 59.1% on field goals and 62.5% on threes in the first half. F&M returned from the break on a 7-2 run, and the lead held around ten points over the next five minutes. Back-to-back Albright threes put them within four points with ten minutes to play, while they soon retook the lead at 58-57 on a three-pointer. Two free throws and a Parra layup put F&M back ahead, while threes from Grauslys and Seidman gave F&M a 66-59 lead with 2:34 left. Albright closed the gap down to 71-68 with 21 seconds to go. F&M drew two fouls over their next two possessions, but was unable to convert any of the four free throws to leave the lead at three. Albright earned a rebound off the last missed free throw with nine seconds left, and called a timeout with two seconds to go. Their three at the buzzer was unsuccessful. F&M continued to excel beyond the arc, going 7-of-11 on threes.

Last Time vs. Goucher

Nearly two decades have passed since Goucher secured 79-70 upset victory over #11 Franklin & Marshall, snapping a three-game losing streak for F&M.  A tightly-contested first-half saw the Gophers take a 41-40 lead into the break. From there, layups from Derek Hines and Logan Outerbridge split one Goucher free throw, as F&M took a 44-42 lead. Back-to-back Goucher layups sparked an 11-0 run over the next six minutes which now led 53-44. An Outerbridge jump shot stalled momentum for a moment, as Goucher as back-to-back threes for Goucher's James Russo pushed the lead to 59-46. A 7-0 run for F&M narrowed the lead to 59-57 with nine minutes to work with. Back-to-back layups and a free throw for Goucher again gave them a double-digit lead of 64-54. Down 66-58, F&M's Brandon Chasen recorded seven consecutive points on a three-pointer, a steal into a layup, and another layup to cut the lead to a point. Goucher's Trevor Quinn drew three-straight fouls and sank all six free throws to put Goucher's lead at 72-65 with a minute to go. A Chasen layup and Jackiem Wright three got F&M within two points with 20 seconds remaining, but Goucher drew a pair of fouls and continued to convert from the charity strike to secure a 79-70 win. In the second half, Goucher made use of 12 Diplomats turnovers, adding 22 points via turnovers. Brandon Smith led F&M with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Hines (15), Chasen (15), and Anthony Lacatena (13) each achieved double-digits for points. Read the full recap here.  

Goucher Team Preview

Goucher (1-4, 0-2 Landmark) opened the Landmark Conference season with a pair of away defeats, falling 74-53 to Susquehanna on Wednesday and losing 96-76 to Drew on Saturday. 

Goucher stayed in the game for most of the first half against Susquehanna, finding themselves down 23-20 with 4:30 to go. A 10-2 Susquehanna run put them behind 11 points through 20 minutes. A 7-0 run for the River Hawks to open the second half gave them a 20-point margin they used to the finish of the game. Jadyss Fifer posted a career-high 19 points, shooting 5-of-6 field goals and going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Alex Miller and Brian Griffin each had six points. Goucher was forced into 26 turnovers in the contest.

Goucher opened with a 7-2 lead to start against Drew, but the Rangers pulled back with a 12-2 run to lead 14-9. Five consecutive Liech Kong points tied the game at 14-14 with 14:00 remaining. A 19-4 run over the next five points gave them a 15-point lead that they pushed to 60-29 at halftime. Goucher outscored Drew 47-36 in the second half with a final of 96-76. Jacob Morgan was 10-of-17 on field goals, totaling 22 points, four assists, and four steals. Kong posted 13 points, while Fifer and Jaden Workman had eight points. 

Kong and Morgan each are averaging 12.6 points per game, while Kong has the third-best field goal percentage (54.9%) in the Landmark Conference. 

Saint Joseph Team Preview

The Blue Jays (3-1) carry a back-to-back win streak heading into the weekend having most recently earned a 85-62 win at Nichols on Monday night.

Saint Joseph never trailed against Nichols, pulling out to a double-digit lead within the opening seven minutes at 18-8 before eventually carrying a 40-26 halftime lead into the break. They continued to hold pace in the second half, outpacing their opponents 45-36 in the final 20 minutes. The Blue Jays shot 52.5% on field goals and 45.5% on threes, out-rebounding their opponents 39-21. Kevin Cummings led the team with 22 points, a career-high, shooting 6-of-9 on threes and 8-of-13 on all field goals. Lence Altenor (15 PTS), Tahmeen Dupree (12 PTS), and Adelphe Cisse (11 PTS) also achieved double-digits, while Friedrich Feldrappe led the team with 11 boards along with two blocked shots. Feldrappe is leading the team in points per game (16.0), rebounds per game (6.8), assists per game (3.0). Cummings has a conference-best 7.0 assist/turnover ratio through four games, while Altenor has the GNAC's second-best three-point field goal percentage (58.3%). 

Last Time vs. No. 10 Christopher Newport

Following a NCAA Tournament Second Round duel won by F&M in the 2017-18 season, the Captains beat the Diplomats on home turf in the championship game of the 2019-20 William Marshall Tip-Off Tournament by a 74-66 tally. F&M kicked off the game with a 5-0 run that was immediately countered with a 10-0 run from the Captains. F&M got back into the game with 11:00 left in the first following a Ignas Slyka three and Solomon Mathis jump shot to square things up at 21. Two Diplomats turnovers were converted into Captains dunks to put CNU back in front 27-21. They pushed their lead to eight-points over the next five minutes, although the Diplomats fired back with a 6-0 run with a pair of Mathis jumpers. The lead stood at 42-37 for CNU at halftime. 

An 8-0 run early on in the second half for the Diplomats leveled things at 47-47, the first tie in nearly 20 minutes. CNU took the next four points and continued to hold a narrow lead throughout the middle of the second half as the teams traded buckets. They eventually reached a double-digit lead at 68-57 with three minutes remaining, pushing as far as a 14-point lead with 40 seconds to go before winning 74-66. CNU shot 54.9% on field goals and 52.9% on three's, while out-rebounding F&M 35-22. Justin Kupa led F&M with 23 points, while Solomon Mathis totaled 22, going 10-of-15 on field goals. Kupa represented F&M on the William Marshall Tip-Off All-Tournament Team. Jason Aigner of Chistopher Newport was the tournament's MVP with 19 points in the championship game and ten three-pointers across the weekend. He was joined on the team by CNU's Luther Gibbs who had ten points and seven rebounds in the championship game. Read the full recap here.  

No. 10 Christopher Newport Team Preview

The No. 10 Captains (5-2) are overall off to a strong start, but have lost two of their last three games including a Monday-night loss at Averett, 80-65. The loss was highlighted by a 36-point performance for Averett's Jamison Graves that was key in defeating the Captains. A ten-point lead for CNU early in the second half was erased over the course of the first half, dwindling to 33-33 at the break. They were then outscored 47-32 across the second half. Jahn Hines led CNU with a second consecutive double-double via 17 points and ten rebounds, while Hasan Hammad scored 11 points. 

Among Coast-To-Coast players, Jahn Hines ranks second in points per game (18.3), second in rebounds per game (8.4), fourth in field goal percentage (52.4%), third in three-point field goal percentage (50.0%). Ethan Ward is tied for the most blocked shots per game (1.7), while Isaiah Dozier and Tyson Henderson are each averaging a conference-high 2.0 steals per game. Henderson is second in both assists per game (3.4) and assist/turnover ratio (3.4). 

Last Time vs. Transylvania

Transylvania secured an upset win in the only meeting to date between the teams with an 86-73 victory in Lexington in the 2012-13 season, snapping an 8-0 start to the campaign for F&M. Transy led 14-7 to start the contest and held the gap to a 23-15 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. A 14-8 run for the Diplomats closed the lead to two. Later on, a Devin Figueroa three and two Max Brewster free throws tied the contest at 34-34. The teams traded points a few times, but a three from the Pioneers gave them a 41-37 lead at halftime. 

F&M outscored their opponents 9-7 to start the second, but a 5-0 run for the Pioneers kept their lead at 53-46. A 9-0 run for Transy in under two minutes put their lead at 69-57. F&M got no closer than seven points the rest of the way with a final score of 86-73. Ed Early had 23 points, shooting 9-of-11 on field goals and earning a spot on the tournament team. Morgan Lee was 7-of-8 on field goals and 2-of-2 on three pointers as he posted a then career high of 18 points. Barrett Meyer of Transylvania led the team with 29 points, followed by 22 for Ethan Spurlin. Four Pioneers totaled double-digits in the contest.  Read the full recap here.  

Transylvania Team Preview

Transylvania (1-1) have had a light start in terms of quantity games, having competed in just one weekend tournament so far at the University of Chicago two weeks ago. They earned an 82-74 win over Ohio Wesleyan on November 16 before falling 77-65 to hosts UChicago. 

The game against Ohio Wesleyan was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than seven in the first half. Transy held a 38-34 lead at halftime. The opening stages of the second half featured over half-a-dozen lead changes, with Transy finding themselves behind by seven points with six minutes to play. They leveled the game over the next two minutes at 69-69, and outscored their opponents 12-5 over the final 4:30, including two huge threes from Colby Napier. Napier led the team with 26 points and a 50.0% three point percentage alongside five assists and two rebounds. Hunter Penn had 14 points and a team-best six rebounds. Logan Tharp contributed 11 points from the bench, while Ben Godby posted eight points and five rebounds from the bench. 

A 42-23 first half for UChicago proved too big of a gap to erase, with Transy outscoring their opponents 42-35 in the second half of a 77-65 defeat. Napier led the team with 16 points, going 5-of-5 on free throws with four threes converted. Ian Reesor had 13 points, four rebounds, and an assist from the bench. Penn led the team with six rebounds. Jaxon Smith had 11 points, including three three-pointers.

F&M Individuals in Centennial Conference Top 10 (As of 11/28/24)

Points Per Game
3. Kevin Nowoswiat (20.7)

Rebounds Per Game
T1. Josh Parra (8.7)

Field Goal Percentage
3. Josh Parra (60.0%)
4. Kevin Nowoswiat (53.3%)

Three-Point Field Goal Percentage
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (44.1%)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
T4. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.5)

Assists Per Game
T4. Vakaris Grauslys (3.5)
T4. John Seidman (3.5)
T8. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.8)

Assists/Turnover Ratio
3. Vakaris Grauslys (1.8)
6. John Seidman (1.4)

Blocked Shots Per Gmae
3. Josh Parra (1.5)

Steals Per Game
2. Vakaris Grauslys (2.8)

Minutes Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (34.8)
8. Vakarius Grauslys (30.7)