GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team won back-to-back games last week to advance to its first Centennial Conference Tournament since 2019. Unfortunately for the sixth-seeded Diplomats, they could not sustain that momentum in Tuesday's Centennial Conference first round game at Gettysburg, falling by a 71-51 final against the third-seeded Bullets.

Vakaris Grauslys led Franklin & Marshall with 15 points, while Omar Nichols and Josh Parra each added 10 points. Gettysburg also had three players finish in double figures, led by Jordan Stafford's game-high 17. The Bullets shot 49.2 percent from the field while holding F&M to 5-of-22 from beyond the arc and just over 32 percent for the game.

The playoff matchup started out with the Diplomats able to get to the basket early with a pair of layups from John Seidman, and another from Parra, getting F&M out to a quick 6-2 lead. Nonetheless, Gettysburg was able to contain the F&M production in the paint from that point on and the Diplomats were unable to connect from deep as the Bullets went on an extended 24-7 run during the final 10 minutes of the opening period. That extended cold stretch from the Diplomats allowed Gettysburg to take a 40-20 lead into the locker rooms at the half.

Franklin & Marshall upped its shooting percentage to nearly 40 percent during the final 20 minutes of its season, but that was not enough to overcome a first half deficit that just could not seem to be erased no matter how many different tactics the Diplomats threw at the Bullets. In the end, both teams scored 31 points during those final 20 minutes of the eventual 71-51 postseason matchup that eventually saw the Bullets earn their spot in the semifinals later this week.

Despite the early edge that the Diplomats seemed to own in the paint, Gettysburg finished with a 48-26 scoring advantage in that painted area. The Bullets also held a strong 52-33 edge in rebounding. F&M did force Gettysburg into 20 turnovers on the night, including six steals from Grauslys to complement his team high in points.

Tonight's result brings to a close the 2022-23 season. The Diplomats won 12 contests throughout this campaign and will certainly have room to grow in the coming year with a number of key players returning. Despite the loss of three seniors who will graduate from Franklin & Marshall this spring, F&M appears poised for more success in the future as the team looks to return nine of its top 10 scorers from this year.