LANCASTER, Pa. -- Cold shooting from the charity stripe doomed Franklin & Marshall in a nip-and-tuck game against Ursinus in a 70-68 loss in its Centennial Conference (CC) opener on Tuesday evening at the Mayser Center. The Diplomats (2-3, 0-1 CC) shot just 6-22 from the line, despite holding a lead for over 26 minutes of game time against the Bears (3-1, 1-0 CC) in a tight loss.

It was a tight game in the first half, as the teams exchanged the lead 14 times, with neither team leading by more than four, nor having larger than a five point run during the stanza. John Seidman, reigning CC Player of the Week, got things started with a coast-to-coast scoop and score to put F&M up 2-0 early. A 10-5 run by the Bears put them up 10-7 with 15:22 remaining. A quick 7-2 spurt by F&M finished off by a Mark Suchy triple gave them a 14-12 edge with 14:07 left in the half. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the half, with Omar Nichols highlighting a quick 6-2 run to grab a 26-24 lead with back-to-back threes with 5:27 left. A Josh Parra layup with 1:51 to go gave F&M a 33-29 advantage that was trimed by a pair of free throws for the 33-31 halftime advantage.

F&M continued its solid stretch of play midway into the second half, as a 6-0 run on the back of three straight Josh Parra layups gave the Diplomats their largest lead of the contest at 49-42 with 11:00 to play. That lead was erased in quick order, as a 7-0 run for the Bears knotted the game at 49-49 with 8:59 remaining. Omar Nichols hit another pair of efforts from beyond the arc to give F&M a five point lead at 56-51 less than a minute later, but the Bears were persistent in their efforts. Ursinus grabbed a 63-60 lead off a 14-4 spurt with 3:05 to play, as F&M faltered down the stretch with five missed free throws during the run.

Josh Parra again bullied his way into the lane to cut the deficit to 65-63 for his 21st point of the game with 1:29 left. After the Bears hit a back-breaking three the next time down the court to extend the lead to 68-63, Omar Nichols again dialed from long distance to cut the lead to two with 54 seconds left. An Ursinus jumper again gave them a four point lead, which was matched the next time down the court by Parra to keep the gap at 70-68 with 22 seconds left.

The Bears gave the Diplomats chances to steal the game at the end, courtesy of missing a pair of front-end one-and-one free throws, but Parra was met at the rim and rejected with 10 seconds left, and Mark Suchy's desperation three at the buzzer fell short.

F&M shot 39.1% (27-69) from the field, while holding a run-and-gun Bears offense to 41.9% (26-62) and just 9-29 from long range. The difference came down to foul shooting, as the Diplomats hit just 6-22 from the line while the lone two misses from Ursinus came with the game in hand at the end (9-11).

Josh Parra led the Diplomats with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks, while Omar Nichols played all 40 minutes en route to 20 points and five boards on the back of 6-12 shooting from beyond the arc. John Seidman knocked in 12 points to pair with seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

The Diplomats have a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday, then get back at it in CC action on the road against Dickinson next Tuesday evening beginning at 8:00 p.m. in Carlisle.