Game Notes

Having wrapped up non-conference play last week, the Franklin & Marshall Men's Basketball team (9-3, 4-1) will now finish the regular by playing 13 consecutive Centennial games. The Diplomats currently sit atop the conference standings, with their lone loss being to Johns Hopkins in early December. In the upcoming week, F&M will travel to both Muhlenberg and Washington College before welcoming Swarthmore to the Mayser Center on Saturday. 

Last Week

In their final out-of-conference game of the season, the Diplomats fell short of Mary Washington 66-49. In what was a poor shooting night for F&M, the Diplomats stayed within reach of the Eagles in the first half, trailing 31-27 at halftime. However, F&M began the second frame on a three-minute field goal drought as Mary Washington quickly extended its lead to 10. By the 14-minute mark, the Eagles went up by 14, and led by as much as 16 on the night. Unable to close the gap to less than double-digits for the remainder of the contest, the Diplomats dropped their third game of the season. Despite the loss, Kevin Nowoswiat registered his third double-double of the season, continuing an impressive sophomore campaign. 

Three days later, F&M returned to the Mayser Center for the first in nearly a month and took down Centennial foe McDaniel in a 57-53 win. After falling behind 14-9 to start the game, a 14-0 Diplomat run put F&M ahead for the remainder of the game, with the score seeing just one tie in the final 27 minutes. Leading 31-22 to begin the second half, the Diplomats saw their advantage get reduced to three after an 11-5 McDaniel run in the opening six minutes. By the 10-minute mark, the Green Terror evened the score at 40-40, marking the first tie since the score was 0-0. However, a 12-2 F&M run over the next six minutes gave the Diplomats much needed breathing room. Continuing to fight back, McDaniel made it a 53-51 game with 22 seconds remaining in the game, but F&M knocked down four free throws down the stretch to seal the win. 

Last Time vs. Muhlenberg

In the second game of the 2022-23 season series, the Diplomats fell to the Mules at home 81-67. Though F&M began the game with a 12-6 advantage, a 12-3 Muhlenberg run gave the Mules the lead for good. With Muhlenberg ahead 25-23 at the seven-minute mark of the first half, the Mules finished the frame on a 21-8 run to take a 15-point advantage into the locker room. Within the first four minutes of the second period, Muhlenberg went up by as much as 20, and later increased the lead to 24 by the 10-minute mark of the half. The Diplomats were unable to weather the storm, falling to the Mules and ultimately splitting the season series. 

Last Time vs. Washington College

On the road against the Shoremen, F&M scored its second most points of the 2022-23 season in a 92-76 defeat of Washington College. The win featured four double-digit scorers for the Diplomats, led by Vakaris Grasuslys with 18 on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Despite trailing 23-13 at the 10-minute mark of the first half, F&M outscored the Shoremen 17-3 over the next five minutes to gain a four-point edge. Ahead 41-34 to begin the second half, the Diplomats had their lead cut to one by the 14-minute mark, but F&M resonded with a 14-2 run to go up 64-51 with under 10 minutes left to play. Keeping Washington College at arm's length for the remainder of the game, the Diplomats notched a 16-point win. 

Last Time vs. Swarthmore

With the Diplomats on the road against the nationally ranked Garnet, No. 10 Swarthmore overcame an six-point halftime deficit to sweep the 2022-23 season series. Though F&M trailed 32-23 with under three minutes remaining in the first half, the Diplomats ended the frame on a 17-2 run to take a 40-34 advantage into the locker room. With the Garnet later ahead 45-43 in the second half, Swarthmore scored seven straight points to extend the lead to nine. Overall, the Garnet outscored F&M 42-22 in the second period, with the Diplomats shooting just 7-of-28 from the floor in the final 20 minutes. 

Muhlenberg Team Preview

Having snapped a five-game losing streak this past Saturday, the Mules come into Tuesday's matchup with a 4-8 overall record and 3-2 record in conference play. After defeating Rosemont in its season opener, Muhlenberg dropped its final six out-of-conference matchups, losing by double-digits in five of those contests. 

Ranking fourth in the Centennial in scoring offense, the Mules have been led by four double-digit scorers with Giovanni Rubino averaging a team-best 17.3 points per game, also good for second in the conference. He's scored at 13 points in all but one game this season, and has registered four 20-point performances on the year. The senior is also shooting a team-high 43.9% from beyond the arc and 53.1% from the field. With an average turnover margin of 1.5, Muhlenberg leads the conference in the category, but ranks last in three-point shooting percentage allowed. 

Washington College Team Preview

On a four-game losing streak, the Shoremen will go up against Ursinus on Tuesday night before taking on the Diplomats on their home floor on Thursday. Despite beginning the season 2-0, Washington College has dropped nine of its last 10, with its lone win coming against McDaniel. It also played an exhibition against division I Navy, falling 91-33. 

Both its leading scorer and rebounder, Kedrick Frick has averaged 15.5 points and 6.7 rebounds a game this season. Through the year's first six games, the senior was averaging 20 points a game but has since been limited to 10 points per contest. With their opponents averaging 10 more rebounds a game than the Shoremen, Washington College ranks 10th in the conference in rebounding margin, but has shot 35.2% from deep, good for second in the Centennial. 

Swarthmore Team Preview

After starting the season as the preseason No. 11 team in the D3hoop.com national poll, the Garnet have not received a vote in the last two editions of the poll with four straight losses. Swarthmore's latest loss was to Gettysburg, falling 74-51 and marking its first conference defeat of the year. It opened the season with a 7-1 record, highlighted by a crucial win over No. 9 NYU at the buzzer. In their losing streak, however, the Garnet have lost by at least 20 points in three of their four losses. 

Leading the team in scoring is Vinny DeAngelo with 16.5 points a game on 47.7% shooting from the floor and 44.1% shooting from the three-point line. His three-pointer as time expired gave Swarthmore a ranked win over No. 9 NYU in the second game of the season. With nearly eights made shots from deep per game, the Garnet ranked second in the conference, but have turned the ball over nearly 15 times a game, which ranks ninth in the conference.