LANCASTER, Pa. -- A career-high 26 points from sophomore guard Omar Nichols helped lift Franklin & Marshall to victory over visiting Alfred in the opening round of the Sponaugle New Years Tournament by a 62-52 final. The Diplomats overcame an early first half deficit with a 13-0 run, then held off the Saxons in the second half to give Alfred just its second loss of the season.

With the win, the Diplomats advance to the championship game of the tournament tomorrow afternoon, facing off against Wesleyan at 3:00 p.m. at the Mayser Center. Alfred will face Wilkes in the consolation game beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Alfred ran off to a hot start, racking up ten of the game's first 14 points in the opening 3:24. A Riiny Giir three ended the early run, then an electifying put-back dunk kickstarted a 6-0 spurt by the Diplomats to take a 13-12 advantage with 14:36 left in the half. The Saxons stormed back to hold a five point edge through the eight minute mark.

F&M then snared the game away with a 13-0 run, as Omar Nichols caught fire to hit three triples over the next four minutes in conjunction with a jumper from Solomon Mathis and a John Seidman layup with 4:01 remaining to give the Diplomats a 30-22 edge. Alfred trimmed the lead to just one with 2:54 remaining, using a 7-0 burst of its own to narrow the gap to 30-29. A quick 6-0 stretch by the Diplomats gave them a 36-29 lead entering halftime.

Another Nichols bucket from deep paired with a Mathis layup pushed the Diplomat lead to a dozen just 1:35 into the stanza. The Saxons got as close as five at 53-48 with 8:12 remaining, but Nichols again slammed the door shut on the next possession with a dagger three to bump the lead to eight. A pair of Josh Parra free throws extended the F&M lead to its largest at 14 at 64-50 with 5:00 to play. Alfred trimmed the lead to six with a minute left, but four free throws down the stretch from Nichols secured F&M's double-digit victory.

Omar Nichols led the way with a career-high 26, hitting six three-pointers along the way to pace the Diplomats. Solomon Mathis hit his average with 16 points and five assists. John Seidman added nine and Josh Parra had eight to round out the starters. Riiny Giir and Sam Davison added seven and six off the bench, respectively. Giir and Parra each had seven rebounds to lead F&M.