Game Notes

Wrapping non-conference action at Hamilton (11-1) this Tuesday, the Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (7-4) will begin the 13-game Centennial Conference slate hosting McDaniel (10-1) on Saturday. They enter the week following a 1-1 home stand one week ago with a win over Mary Washington last Thursday and a loss to (RV) Virginia Wesleyan on Monday afternoon.

Last Week

F&M returned from the holiday break with a pair of home games last week, falling 70-66 to (RV) Virginia Wesleyan on Monday before earning a split for the week with a 58-52 win against Mary Washington. 

F&M held a 42-26 lead heading into halftime against Virginia Wesleyan before suffering defeat. Dylan Cormac delivered 16 points from the bench, shooting 6-of-11 on field goals and 4-of-8 beyond the arc. Josh Parra and Kevin Nowoswiat each scored ten points, while John Seidman assisted four times. The Diplomats opened the game with 13 unanswered, including seven points from Nowoswiat. Their run was broken by a layup before scoring five straight to lead 18-2. Threes from Cormac and Steve Donahue pushed the lead to 20 through ten minutes of regulation. A 10-2 run for the Marlins over a three-minute spell cut the deficit in half. The teams traded buckets for a few minutes before the Diplomats concluded the half on a 7-0 run to give them a 16-point lead at the intermission.

Yet again, the visitors halved the deficit with an eight-point run to kick off the second half. The Diplomats scored five straight, followed by six from Virginia Wesleyan for a 47-40 scoreline with 11:36 left. A key dunk from the Marlins with 7:23 left brought the lead to one before a free throw on the next possession tied the game. After trading scores for several possessions, a 4-0 Diplomats run gave them a 59-54 lead with 4:00 to go. Another dunk from the Marlins kicked off a 9-0 run to give them a 63-59 lead with 90 seconds to go. F&M could get no closer than two points the rest of the way. The Marlins made use of foul trouble for F&M, converting on 20 of 25 free throw opportunities. A full recap is available here. 

F&M led most of the way against Mary Washington and stalled a late charge from the visitors in a 58-52 win on Thursday night. Sebastien Charles recorded his first career double-double via 12 points and 12 rebounds, with all of his points coming from threes (4-of-7 3PT). Nowoswiat led the team with 16 points alongside seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Vakaris Grauslys had 14 points and four assists. Threes from Nowoswiat and Grauslys kicked off the game, although Mary Washington responded with an eight-point run to lead 8-6 early on. Back-to-back Parra layups put the hosts ahead once again for a moment. Franklin Jones countered a go-ahead three from the Eagles with a steal in transition that he dunked to regain the lead once again. They began a 10-2 run that put F&M ahead 20-13. Mary Washington scored 11 of the next 14 points, to get back within a point, with their run interrupted by a Nowoswiat three. The Diplomats regained momentum with a 10-2 run to conclude the half that included a pair of Charles threes. They carried a 33-26 lead into halftime following a period where they shot 46.2% from the field. 

F&M stretched their lead to double-digits to open the second half and held that lead throughout the opening stages. A 3-of-3 trip to the charity stripe from the Eagles cut the lead to five before again falling nine back at 49-30 with eight minutes to go. Down six with two minutes to go, they shot back-to-back layups and found themselves down 54-52 with 0:48 left. A driving layup from Grauslys on the next possession made it a two-score game with 20 seconds left. Mary Washington missed their three attempt, Charles earned a defensive rebound, and Grauslys was fouled with six seconds left. He put the game away with a pair of converted free throws. A full recap is available here.

Last Time vs. Hamilton

Hamilton earned a 65-54 win at F&M in the 1963-64 season. F&M struggled to a 1-20, 1-14 MAC record that season, while Hamilton was 9-6.

Hamilton Team Preview

Hamilton (11-1) extended their active winning streak to ten with a pair of wins to earn the Stevens Holiday Tournament Championship this weekend. They opened the weekend with a 72-61 win over hosts Stevens on Friday before beating York (Pa.) 78-57 on Saturday. 

Hank Morgan led the team with 24 points in their comeback win over Stevens, while Teja Singh notched his 1,000th career point. Singh ended the game with 19 points and became the program's 37th player to achieve 1000 points. Owen Kane led the team with ten rebounds plus three assists. The teams entered the halftime break level at 29-29, and Stevens pushed ahead via 9-1 run in the second half for a game-high 38-30 lead with 17:39 to go. The Continentals soon got back within a point at 45-44, still with 14 minutes remaining. An 8-0 while down 52-50 gave Hamilton a 58-52 lead with 7:23 to go. They then countered a Stevens three with a three from Singh. He added another shot beyond the arc a few minutes later to give Hamilton a game-high lead of 65-56 with 3:12 to go. Stevens was unable to get closer than seven in the remaining time. Jalen Reese added five rebounds, four steals, and two blocked shots from the bench. 

Morgan followed up his 24-point performance the day before with a career-high 32 in the Stevens Holiday Tournament Championship victory over York. He shot 13-of-19 on field goals including 3-of-6 three-pointers en route to being named the tournament's MVP.  Reese was again key from the bench, as he totaled seven points, a team-high seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. Garrett Keyhani had nine points, and Singh posted eight. Sharif Nelson had a career-high five assists. In total, the Hamilton bench contributed 27 points, while the team was an efficient 55.9% on field goals. The game was tight in the opening moments, tied 13-13 early on. A 12-3 run for Hamilton gave them a 25-16 lead with ten minutes to go. York got within five points via a 6-1 run, but Hamilton responded with seven unanswered over the next two minutes to lead 39-27. They eventually carried a 41-31 lead into the halftime break. Layups from Keyhani and Morgan began the second half to push their lead to 14. A run for York got them back within nine points, but a later 12-0 run for the Continentals secured their win. 

Among NESCAC sides, Hamilton ranks fifth in scoring margin (10.9), sixth in field goal percentage (44.1%), fifth in rebounding margin (9.5), and fifth in blocked shots per game (4.58). Morgan is leading the conference in points per game (20.4), ranks fourth in field goal percentage (54.9%), seventh in free throw percentage (82.1%), seventh in steals per game (1.7), and 11th in rebounds per game (6.0). Reese averages the fifth most blocked shots per game (1.7).

Last Time vs. McDaniel

F&M clawed back from a ten-point deficit in the second half before eventually claiming a 75-69 victory in McDaniel to complete a season sweep of the Green Terror. A 12-2 run for McDaniel in the opening moments put the hosts ahead 16-5, a lead they did not concede until overtime. Down 31-23, the Diplomats scored seven-straight points to head into the break down by just a point. The Green Terror used a 6-1 run to build back out to an eight-point lead in the first five minutes of the second half. A scoreless run of three minutes was broken by McDaniel who posted five straight points to lead by 13. An 8-2 run for F&M narrowed the deficit to four points with four minutes to go. Down five, a 5-0 run for F&M eventually brought the game into overtime. Josh Parra scored the first six points for F&M in the first overtime period, as the visitors led 60-56 in the first two minutes. Four-straight points for McDaniel tied things up with a minute left, but neither team could find an advantage. F&M opened the second overtime period with a 7-0 run capped by a Sebastien Charles three that they maintained to the end of OT. A full recap is available here.  

McDaniel Team Preview

McDaniel enters the week with a 10-1 record in non-conference play, including an eight-game win streak heading into Tuesday's game against Regent. Last week, they earned a 62-60 win over Penn State Altoona on Monday before earning a 73-65 win hosting Cairn on Thursday. 

Jonas Sujeta scored 18 points against Penn State Altoona, including four three pointers. David Kearney contributed 13 points, six rebounds, and four steals. Chuck Contee totaled 10 points with four rebounds. McDaniel trailed 40-30 in the opening minutes of the second half, but a 28-6 stretch over the next ten minutes gave them a game-high 58-46 advantage with 7:41 to go. Sujeta scored 9 of the first 11 points of that run. The Lions worked their way back into the game, with a 14-4 run to end the game. With two seconds to go down by two, Penn State Altoona intentionally missed the second free throw but was unable to convert a buzzer-beater layup to tie the game. The game saw eight lead changes, 41 turnovers, and just 13 combined trips to the charity stripe.

Sujeta had his fifth 20-point game of the year in the win over Cairn, as he scored 25 points. Contee posted a 13-point, nine-rebound performance, while Lorin Hall had a career-high 12 rebounds alongside nine points. Kearney totaled 12 points and eight rebounds. Mikey Ayala Jr. contributed eight assists and eight points. In total, the Green Terror's starting five contributed 67 of 75 points. Cairn carried a 32-30 lead into halftime, and the teams continued to trade points to open the second half. McDaniel trailed 47-45 with ten minutes left before utilizing an 18-7 run to lead 65-52 with 3:27 to go. Cairn got within seven points but no closer. 

Heading into conference play, the Green Terror have the conference's best scoring margin (8.6) and second-best defense (62.1 points allowed per game). They are also first in rebounding margin (13.3), first in three-point field goal percentage (38.4%), second in field goal percentage (46.6%), third assist/turnover ratio (0.99), and third in assists per game (14.18). Sujeta is fifth in the conference in points per game (18.3), while Contee is eighth (16.0). Sujeta also ranks second in field goal percentage (54.9%), tied for third in three-pointers per game (2.4), and tenth in rebounds per game (5.9). Contee averages the second-most threes per game (2.7), while he's ninth in assists per game (2.7). 

F&M Among Centennial Conference Sides (As of 1/6/24)

1st in Turnover Margin (0.91)
2nd in Rebounding Margin (6.4)
2nd in Steals Per Game (8.82)
3rd in Opponent Field Goal Percentage (41.4%)
3rd in Opponent Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (28.2%)
4th in Field Goal Percentage (43.9%)
4th in Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (33.9%)
4th in Assist/Turnover Ratio (0.95)
5th in Assists Per Game (13.27)

F&M Individuals in the Centennial Conference Top 10 (As of 1/6/24)

Points Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (19.1)

Rebounds Per Game
2. Kevin Nowoswiat (8.0)
3. Josh Parra (7.6)

Field Goal Percentage
6. Kevin Nowoswiat (51.3%)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
T7. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.1)

Assists Per Game
T5. Vakaris Grauslys (3.1)
T5. John Seidman (3.1)
T8. Kevin Nowoswiat (2.7)

Assists/Turnover Ratio
T2. Vakaris Grauslys (1.5)
T5. John Seidman (1.3)

Blocked Shots Per Game
3. Josh Parra (1.4)

Steals Per Game
3. Vakaris Grauslys (2.1)
5. Franklin Jones (1.6)
T7. Josh Parra (1.4)

Minutes Per Game
3. Kevin Nowoswiat (33.1)
10. Vakaris Grauslys (31.0)