Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (5-3) plays just one game this week with an away trip to Neumann (6-3) on Thursday night, the final game ahead of a three-and-a-half-week pause in the schedule. They enter this week after posting a 2-1 record the week prior, including a win over (RV) Saint Joseph (Conn.) and an appearance in the Christopher Newport Holiday INNvitational Championship Game on Sunday afternoon.  

Last Week

F&M went 2-1 in a busy Thanksgiving week, hosting Goucher in a 76-57 win on Tuesday before traveling to Newport News, Va. for the Christopher Newport Holiday INNviational on the weekend. They beat (RV) Saint Joseph (Conn.) 59-39 on Saturday before falling to hosts No. 10 Christopher Newport 72-64 in the championship game. Kevin Nowowswiat's strong performance across the week earned him Centennial Conference Player of the Week honors after averaging 19.0 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game with a 53.4% field goal percentage.

After holding a 31-30 halftime lead through a scrappy first half, F&M soon pulled away by double digits in the second half of their 76-57 win over Goucher on Tuesday night. Four players achieved double-digits, led by 20 points for Nowoswiat who tallied three three-pointers. Josh Parra (13 points), Vakaris Grauslys (11 points, three 3PT) and Steve Donahue (11 points, three 3PT) joined Nowoswiat with double digits. Grauslys led the team with five assists, while John Seidman had a team-high five assists. F&M led 7-2 to start, followed by a 6-0 run for Goucher to lead 8-7. They soon went on a 10-2 run to lead 18-12. A layup from Nowoswiat and Donahue three brought the gap to two points with six minutes to go, but this was countered by Goucher who pulled ahead by eight. A 10-4 run over the final 3:46 of the half gave the Diplomats a 31-30 lead at the break. A 13-2 run for F&M, with a pair of Nowoswiat threes, put F&M in control 49-34 with 12:20 to go. Another 9-0 run brought the lead to a game high 63-40 before a final score of 76-57. F&M forced 21 turnovers from 14 steals, totaling 19 points from turnovers. 

The Diplomats' defense held (RV) Saint Joseph (Conn.) to a 29.2% field goal percentage while forcing the Blue Jays to 20 turnovers including 12 steals in their 59-39 win on Saturday, the first time the teams faced each other. Nowoswiat had a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double with four steals. Grauslys posted 19 points with eight rebounds. Sebastien Charles totaled nine points from three three-pointers with five rebounds, while Franklin Jones had three steals and six rebounds. Saint Joseph opened with a 7-2 lead that was countered by two Parra free throws and a Charles three to tie the game. A 7-0 Saint Joseph run, with a five-minute scoreless stretch in the middle, gave the Blue Jays a 14-7 lead through ten minutes. Four points from Grauslys led an 8-0 run for F&M to give them a 15-14 lead with 5:00 to play. A Charles three and Grauslys layup brought the lead to 20-15, and they eventually carried a 24-16 lead into the break, allowing three points over the final ten minutes. F&M shot 45.5% in the second half after shooting just 21.6% in the first half. An 8-0 run with five Nowoswiat points brought the lead to 17 points with 16:19 to go. The deficit got to 44-33 with 8:00 to go, but F&M outscored their opponents 15-6 the rest of the way. 

After carrying a 32-32 into the halftime break against No. 10 Christopher Newport, F&M trailed by a modest margin for most of the second half before losing 72-64 in Sunday's CNU Holiday INNviational Championship game. Grauslys and Nowoswiat each had 18 points, with Nowoswiat totaling eight rebounds and converting 8-of-14 field goals. Parra had 12 points, going 5-of-7 on field goals, while John Seidman had 13 points and eight rebounds. Neither team led by more than four points in a first half that included five lead changes and seven ties. F&M scored first via a Parra layup, but soon trailed 3-2 and then by 6-4. A Franklin Jones layup tied things at 6-6 to start a sequence of trading baskets. Nowoswiat got back within a point on two occasions, but F&M soon trailed 21-17. A 7-0 run for F&M via a Grauslys three and layups from Seidman and Nowoswiat gave F&M a 22-21 lead. CNU tied the game on four separate occasions and eventually the game went into halftime with a 32-32 tie. A three for CNU started the second half which was countered by a Parra layup. CNU scored the next seven points which was countered by a Grauslys three. F&M got no closer than four points the rest of the way with a game-high 12-point lead with 5:30 to go. 

Last Time vs. Neumann

The Diplomats outscored Neumann 53-29 en route to a 97-67 win to open the 2023-24 season at the Mayser Center. Vakarius Grauslys led F&M in scoring with 20 points, going 8-of-12 on field goals. Jaylen Green and Dylan Cormac each totaled 52 points off the bench, as the Diplomats outscored the Knights' bench 52-8. The Knights conceded 20 turnovers, and F&M posted 28 points off turnovers. Six-straight points from Josh Parra put F&M ahead early by a 14-4 margin, soon followed by a three from Green. The Knights narrowed the gap to 19-14, but Cormac responded with back-to-back threes to go back ahead by double digits, 25-14, with the lead never dropping into the single digits the rest of the way. A 10-run in the last four minutes of the first half gave the Diplomats a 53-29 lead through 20 minutes. Jalen Vaughns of Neumann scored 11 points in the first five minutes, with the Knights narrowing the gap to 59-40. Five-straight points put F&M ahead 64-40, and a 8-0 run later on gave F&M a lead of 75-46. The lead reached 30 at 79-49 with a final scoreline of 97-67. Read the full recap here.  

Neumann Team Preview

The Knights carry a three-game win streak into Thursday's game as they wrap up a six-game homestand that began on November 20. So far this week, they earned an 83-69 win over Eastern. Mike Smith III led the team in both points (17) and assists (seven), while TJ Lewis (14 points, five assists), Bryan Etienne (12 points, seven rebounds, five steals), DJ Earl (13 points), and Gary Francis (11 points) also achieved double-digits. A 9-3 run early for Eastern put them ahead 12-7 in the first six minutes. After Neumann tied the game at 12-12, another run for Eastern stretched their lead to 21-14 with 10:30 to play. Neumann got back within a point at 26-25, and the teams traded buckets with Eastern controlling the pace up to halftime break with a 36-36 scoreline. A pair of Etienne free throws two minutes into the second half gave Neumann their first lead since a 4-3 scoreline. The teams battled back and forth across the middle of the second half, with ties at 40-40, 48-48, and 50-50. The Knights went on a 6-2 run to lead 56-51, but their lead was neutralized minutes later at 61-61 on  an Eastern three. They again took a modest lead with a 9-2 run for a 70-63 lead with 5:32 to go. The lead got no smaller than five points the rest of the way, with Neumann scoring 11 of the game's last 13 points.

Earl ranks third among Atlantic East players in scoring by averaging 15.8 points per game, while his three-pointer per game volume is third-best (3.0). Nigel Burch averages a fifth-best 5.6 rebounds per game and third in blocked shots per game (0.8). Smith is fourth in assists per game (3.3), while Earl ranks fourth in steals per game (1.9). Neuman currently has the Atlantic East's second-best scoring margin (7.4), field goal percentage (48.0%), and three-point field goal percentage (36.7%), turnover margin (1.80), blocked shots per game (3.60), and steals per game (8.60). They lead conference teams in rebounding margin (5.6).

F&M Individuals in the Centennial Conference Top 10 (As of 12/2/24)

Points Per Game
3. Kevin Nowoswiat (20.1)

Rebounds Per Game
3. Josh Parra (8.1)
6. Kevin Nowoswiat (7.5)

Field Goal Percentage
3. Josh Parra (56.9%)
5. Kevin Nowoswiat (52.5%)

Assists Per Game
5. John Seidman (3.3)
7. Vakaris Grauslys (3.0)

Assists/Turnover Ratio
T3. John Seidman (1.5)
T5. Vakaris Grauslys (1.4)

Blocked Shots Per Game
3. Josh Parra (1.5)

Steals Per Game
2. Vakaris Grauslys (2.3)
T7. Josh Parra (1.5)

Minutes Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (34.6)
5. Vakaris Grauslys (31.8)