Game Notes

Coming off of a successful week, the Franklin & Marshall Men's Basketball team (12-3, 7-1) will now travel to Dickinson on Wednesday night before a matchup at the Mayser Center against Haverford on Saturday afternoon. Having won four straight, the Diplomats lead the Centennial Conference standings, with their lone loss in conference play being to Johns Hopkins. After last Saturday's win over Swarthmore, F&M matched its win total from last season, still with 10 games left to play. 

Last Week

On the road against Muhlenberg, the Diplomats cruised to an 88-67 victory behind 20 points from Kevin Nowoswiat and a Josh Parra double-double. In a back-and-forth start to the game, F&M led 17-16 after the first nine minutes of the game before a 14-2 run gave the Diplomats a 13-point advantage. After the Mules eventually made it a 35-34 game, F&M closed out the first half on a 6-2 run to take a 41-36 edge into the break. Leading 50-46 with just over 13 minutes remaining, the Diplomats used a 28-12 run over the following eight minutes to grow their advantage to 20. The run effectively put the game out of reach for Muhlenberg as F&M completed a 21-point win. Read the full recap here. 

Traveling to Washington College two days later, the Diplomats quickly opened up a 21-6 lead after knocking down five shots from deep within the first 10 minutes. Over the next three minutes, F&M extended its lead to 20 and led by as much as 22 in the half. However, the Shoremen ended the final three minutes of the frame on a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to 13 by the intermission. By the 15-minute mark of the second period, Washington College made it a seven-point contest after opening up the half on a 10-4 run. With the Diplomats later leading 48-40, a 15-2 run gave them 21-point lead and allowed F&M to comfortably close out its third straight win. Read the full recap here. 

The Diplomats then closed out the week at home against Swarthmore, where the Garnet jumped out to a 14-1 lead with F&M failing to make a shot from the field in the first eight minutes of the game. After Vakaris Grauslys went on a 7-2 run of his own to make it an eight-point game, Swarthmore responded with six unanswered points to go back up double-digits. With the Garnet leading by at least 10 for the remainder of the frame, Swarthmore took a 32-20 advantage into the locker room. Trailing 36-25 with 17 minutes left in the game, the Diplomats went on a 12-0 run to take their first lead of the afternoon. The score then saw four ties and four lead changes over the next five minutes, as F&M held a 47-44 advantage at the eight-minute mark. However, the Diplomats distanced themselves from the Garnet with a 9-2 run to go up by 10 with five minutes remaining in regulation. Though Swarthmore managed to close the gap to five, F&M ended the game outscoring the Garnet 13-3 and won its first game over Swarthmore since 2018. Read the full recap here. 

Last Time vs. Dickinson

In their away matchup against the Red Devils last season, the Diplomats routed Dickinson 73-45 with four starters reaching double-figures in scoring on the night. By halftime, F&M led 37-21 with the team shooting 48% from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Diplomats then led by as much as 32 in the second half, with the deficit staying above 20 for the final 17 minutes of the game. The win was a crucial step for F&M in reach the playoffs, who then knocked off McDaniel in the following contest to make the conference tournament. Josh Parra led the team with 18 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the field, while no Red Devil eclipsed 10 points. Read the full recap here. 

Last Time vs. Haverford

Having met earlier this season, the Diplomats led for all 40 minutes in a 70-63 win over the Fords. Shooting 8-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, Vakaris Grauslys set a personal-best of 27 points on the afternoon. Within the first four minutes of the game, F&M got out to a 9-0 lead on 3-of-3 shooting from long range. Despite leading by as much as 16 in the first half, Haverford outscored the Diplomats 14-3 over the final six-and-a-half minutes of the frame to bring the score to 33-28 by halftime. After F&M built its lead up to 40-30 in the opening minutes of the second period, the Fords scored eight unanswered points to make it a one-possession game with 13 minutes left in the contest. Later leading 53-48, the Diplomats scored six consecutive points for an 11-point lead and stayed in front by at least seven for the rest of the way. Read the full recap here. 

Dickinson Team Preview

After stopping a two-game skid with a win over Washington College on Saturday, the Red Devils currently sit in seventh place of the conference standings with a 6-9 overall record and 3-5 in conference play. Currently in search of returning to the conference tournament for the first time since 2022, Dickinson can match its conference win total from last season with one more win. 

One of the bright spots for the Red Devils this season has been Nate Ogbu, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with 13.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He also leads the conference in rebounding and total double-doubles with six this season. Since December 20, Ogbu has averaged 17.8 points per contest, which includes three 20-point performances. While ranking 10th in three-point shooting percentage in the conference as a team, Dickinson is also the third-best team in the Centennial in three-point shooting defense, holding opponents to 30.6% from beyond the arc. 

Haverford Team Preview

Tied for the worst record in the conference, the Fords come into the week with a 4-11 overall record and 1-7 in Centennial play. Haverford is currently on a five-game losing streak, with its latest loss being a 37-point defeat to Johns Hopkins. The lone conference win for the Fords came against Washington College in November, after which the team dropped its next seven tilts against Centennial opponents. One of two double-figure scorers on the team, Nick Klaiber has averaged a team-best 14.4 points per game on 46.6% shooting from the floor and 51.5% from long range. On the glass, Logan Brown has recorded 6.3 rebounds per tilt with a pair of double-doubles. Ranking in the bottom half of the conference in nearly every category, the Fords have allowed opponents to shoot 36.3% from the three-point line which is ninth in the Centennial. They do, however, shoot 34.5% from deep themselves, good for third in the conference.