LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (8-7, 3-5 CC) was defeated by McDaniel (6-7, 3-5 CC), 69-68, in its Centennial Conference game Saturday afternoon at the Mayser Center. The teams traded baskets for multiple lead changes down the stretch. Omar Nichols connected with a huge three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining to give F&M a 68-67 advantage, but the Green Terror knocked down a mid-range jump shot with four seconds left on the clock to pull out the victory.

Leading 40-35 with 16:41 left in the contest, Nichols converted a tough layup at the rim while also drawing a foul on the play. The junior knocked down the free throw to convert the and-one opportunity to put F&M up 43-35. Sebastien Charles added two more points on putback layup to give the Diplomats its biggest lead of the afternoon just five minutes into the second half.

McDaniel clawed its way back into the game to jump out to a 56-51 lead with 9:45 remaining in the game. John Seidman laid in two points, followed by a three-pointer from Vakaris Grauslys to tie the score at 56-all with 8:09 left on the clock.

Nichols had a great game, scoring 23 points while shooting 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field and 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from beyond the arc. Mark Suchy grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and recorded four assists in the contest.

Franklin & Marshall looks to bounce back when it plays a road Centennial Conference game against Johns Hopkins Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.