COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- Ursinus shot nearly 60% from the field inside its friendly confines, shooting past Franklin & Marshall 97-77 in Centennial Conference (CC) action on Thursday evening. The Diplomats (7-11, 4-7 CC) closed a first half gap to just one, but struggled in the second half to fall by 20 to the Bears (10-6, 7-4 CC).

Ursinus opened with 15 of the first 21 points of the contest, before Omar Nichols dropped in a triple with 14:15 left to make it 15-9. F&M fought back down by seven with 7:49 remaining in the half, as an 8-0 Diplomat surge pushed them ahead 32-31 with 6:17 to play. John Seidman passed around the Bears defense, assisting on back-to-back Jaylen Green threes, then on a Josh Parra layup to snag the lead. Ursinus took the lead back on its next possession, but F&M continued to keep it close - down by just one with 3:13 left after another Nichols triple. But a 10-4 stretch by the Bears put them up 53-46 at the half.

A 12-2 run sealed the deal for Ursinus in the second half, putting the Bears up by 20 with 10:33 remaining. F&M closed the gap to 18 on a handful of occasions, but Ursinus kept a firm grip on the advantage. The Bears lead swelled to 25 with 1:56 to play off an 11-4 run, before the Diplomats chipped it back to the 20 point final deficit.

F&M was outshot 58.2% - 39.7%, including 60% - 34.8% from beyond the arc. Both teams took care of the basketball, but the Bears were ruthless in converting their chances, with 17 points off 12 Diplomat turnovers. F&M held a +5 advantage in rebounds, dropping in 13 2nd chance points.

Five Diplomats players hit double-figures in a well-rounded effort. John Seidman led the way with 19, Omar Nichols dropped in 16, while Riiny Giir and Jaylen Green both scored 10. Josh Parra registered a double-double with 14/10 in 27 minutes.

F&M returns home to face Washington on Saturday afternoon in CC action beginning at 3:00 p.m.