LANCASTER, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall men's basketball held on for a nailbiting 64-58 victory over visiting Dickinson on Wednesday evening in Centennial Conference (CC) play at the Mayser Center. The Diplomats (9-15, 7-12 CC) led by as many as 11 in the first half, nearly going coast to coast against the Red Devils (10-12, 9-8 CC) to potentially play spoiler to Dickinson's CC playoff hopes.

The first and only lead change in the contest came after the Red Devils' opening bucket, where F&M scored 13 of the next 16 points to take a 13-5 advantage with 13:59 left in the first. An 8-0 scoring run, followed by five straight punctuated by a Solomon Mathis triple gave the Diplomats an eight point edge. The two teams exchanged buckets, with F&M eventually opening up an 11 point lead with 10:33 remaining in the half of yet another Mathis three-pointer. The Diplomats teetered back and forth around a double-digit margin until a 7-2 spurt by Dickinson to close the half narrowed the gap to just five at 29-24.

The Red Devils trimmed the lead to three with 15:21 left, but a pair of John Seidman free throws extended the Diplomats' lead to 35-30. Dickinson kept things close, hitting a three to again narrow the gap to 37-34 just under three minutes later. A pair of layups from Seidman and Sam Davison, compliments of a duet of assists from Mark Suchy moved the Diplomat lead back to a comfortable margin, then extended back to 11 again off a pair of freebies from Omar Nichols at 45-34 with 10:04 remaining.

Dickinson chipped away at the Diplomat lead, eventually pulling it back to 53-49 five minutes later. A Sam Davison bomb from the left corner again had F&M sitting with a multiple possession margin, but it didn't last long. The visitors clawed back again with a 5-0 spurt, down just two with 3:39 remaining after another long range bomb. John Seidman answered back on the next possession, hitting a tough runner with contact to double the lead to 58-54. Another layup from Dickinson again sliced the lead in half, but a free throw from Josh Parra and another and-one opportunity from Seidman extended the lead back to 61-56 with 36 ticks left on the clock.

A pair of free throws from the Red Devils challenged F&M's resolve again, but a pair from the stripe by Parra and a final free throw dagger from Seidman sealed the 64-58 final.

F&M was dominant on the defensive end, forcing 17 Dickinson turnovers off ten steals compared to an astounding three for the home side. The Diplomats struggled to turn those turnovers into points, though, netting just 11 points despite an additional 19 attempts from the field compared to the Red Devils. The Diplomats shot 34.8% from the field, hitting 24-69 attempts, including five from beyond the arc.

John Seidman led the way for F&M with a double-double, racking up 22 points and 12 rebounds, while packing the stat sheet with four assists and four steals. Solomon Mathis wasn't far behind with his 14 points, while Sam Davison scored seven off the bench in his high energy 16 minute run.

The Diplomats finish off their 2021-22 season with Senior Day festivities against McDaniel on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the Mayser Center.