Game Notes

With two games remaining on the schedule, the Franklin & Marshall Men's Basketball team (17-6, 12-4) looks to finish the regular season strong before entering the Centennial Conference Tournament. After last week's results, the Diplomats sit in third place of the conference standings, still with a chance at earning a first-round bye should they win out and Gettysburg lose its last two contests. F&M has, however, a guaranteed itself a home playoff game as it cannot finish lower than fourth place.  

Last Week

Starting their two-game road trip in Baltimore, the Diplomats fell to Johns Hopkins 73-58 in their season rematch. With the Blue Jays ahead 14-12 over halfway into the first frame, Johns Hopkins distanced themselves with a 9-3 run to take an eight-point advantage. Later in front 28-23 with just over two minutes remaining in the half, the Blue Jays ended the period on an 8-0 run to take a 13-point lead into the break. Johns Hopkins then opened up the second half on an 8-1 run before back-to-back F&M three-pointers brought the Diplomats to within 13 with under 15 minutes remaining. However, F&M went cold from the floor immediately after, making just one more shot for the next five minutes as the Blue Jays built their lead up to 57-39. Though the Diplomats did cut the deficit to as little as eight for the remainder of the game, their comeback attempt fell short with Johns Hopkins closing out the win. Read the full recap here. 

F&M then traveled to Swarthmore on Saturday afternoon, where it fell to the Garnet 75-50. Trailing 12-9 after the opening six minutes of the game, the Diplomats saw a five-minute scoring drought during which Swarthmore scored 11 unanswered points to extend its lead to 12. By the six-minute mark, the Garnet led by 21 before an 8-1 F&M run closed the gap to 15 with four minutes remaining. Ending the half with a pair of made three-pointers, Swarthmore took a 40-21 advantage into the locker rooms. Less than three minutes into the second half, the Garnet took their largest lead of the game at 26 after a 7-0 run. Despite the Diplomats later getting to within 15 with less than 10 minutes to go, Swarthmore limited F&M to just three more field goals made for the rest of the contest to record the win. Read the full recap here. 

Last Time vs. Dickinson

Visiting Dickinson last month, F&M used a strong second half to defeat the Red Devils 56-42. In the first half, the score saw 12 lead changes and five ties with neither team leading by more than four. Ahead 17-16 with just over eight minutes left before halftime, the Diplomats did not make another field goal until there were 14 seconds remaining by which point Dickinson had taken a 23-21 edge. Making a basket just before time expired in the half, the Red Devils took a 25-23 lead into the intermission. With Dickinson up 30-25 at the 17-minute mark of the second period, F&M scored eight straight points, led by back-to-back three-pointers by Kevin Nowoswiat and Jaylen Green, to go in front for the first time in nearly nine minutes of play. Though the Red Devils responded with two straight buckets to jump back in front, an 8-2 run by the Diplomats gave F&M the lead for good. Read the full recap here. 

Last Time vs. Washington College

Having met in early January, the Diplomats had one of their best shooting nights of the season in an 82-71 win over Washington College. By the 10-minute mark of the first half, F&M raced out to a 21-6 lead while 5-of-9 from deep to start the game. The Diplomats led by as much as 22 for the remainder of the frame, but a 12-3 run by the Shoremen over the final three minutes made it a 13-point game at the half. With F&M in front 43-30 in the early stages of the second period, Washington College went on a 6-0 run to get to within seven with 15 minutes left to play. Later leading 48-40, a a 15-2 run that spanned nearly four minutes put the Diplomats ahead by 21 and squashed any comeback hope for the Shoremen. Read the full recap here. 

Dickinson Team Preview

Having broken a three-game losing streak this past Saturday, the Red Devils remain in the hunt for a playoff spot with two games left to play. Currently, Dickinson trails Muhlenberg by one game for the final spot in the conference tournament with the two teams having split the season series. Each side is scheduled to face Ursinus in one of their final two games, with the Red Devils also taking on F&M and the Mules visiting Gettysburg.  

As the team's lone double-digit scorer on the year, Nate Ogbu has averaged 11.8 points per game while also tallying  8.2 rebounds a contest, good for second in the conference. The graduate student has recorded eight double-doubles on the year,  most recently against Gettysburg in which he posted 14 points and 10 rebounds. When the Diplomats and Red Devils previously met this season, Ogbu was held to just two points on 1-of-14 shooting. As a team, Dickinson is one of the best in the conference at guarding the three-point line, allowing a 29.5% shooting percentage from deep. However, the Red Devils rank dead last in shooting from beyond the arc themselves, averaging 28.3% from deep. 

Washington College Team Preview

For a third straight season, the Shoremen will miss the Centennial Conference Tournament, currently sitting with a 2-14 conference record and 4-19 overall. In its losses, the Shoremen have been outscored by 17.6 points per game, though they have dropped a pair of one-score contests in their last three tilts. Prior to its last win on January 31 against Haverford, Washington College suffered an 11-game losing streak which dated back to December 9. 

Both its leading scorer and rebounder, Kendrick Frink has averaged 15.7 points and 5.9 boards a game. In his last four tilts, Frink has registered 20 points per contest on 50.8% shooting from the field, including a career-high 32 points in the Shoremen's win over the Fords. Giving up 11.3 turnovers per game as a team, Washington College has been the best in the conference at taking care of the ball. On the glass, however, the Shoremen have been out-rebounded by a conference-worst 13.6 rebounds a game.