ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (1-2) battled to the end, but came up just short in an 86-80 loss at Elizabethtown (1-1) Wednesday evening in non-conference action.

Despite Elizabethtown gaining an early edge on the Diplomats, Franklin & Marshall wouldn't let the Blue Jays out of striking distance. Trailing 28-21 with 8:13 remaining in the first half, F&M began an 8-2 run with John Seidman scoring the first four points of the stretch. After Kevin Nowoswiat connected on a jumper, Elizabethtown came back with a layup on the other end to stop F&M's run of six-straight points. Nowoswiat made a layup on the Diplomats next possession to conclude the run and cut the Blue Jays' lead to 30-28 with 6:47 in the half.

Franklin & Marshall continued to trade blows with Elizabethtown as the visitors claimed a 37-36 lead after Grauslys knocked down a pair of free throws. After the Blue Jays splashed a three-pointer with two minutes left in the half, both teams made layups in the remaining time to give the hosts a 41-39 advantage entering the intermission.

Elizabethtown came out of the halftime break scoring the first six points of the half with Josh Parra making a layup at the 18:16 mark to cut the hosts' lead to 47-41. The Blue Jays led 53-42 when Grauslys drilled a three-pointer at the 16:36 mark to start a 10-3 run for the Diplomats. After Elizabethtown hit a free throw, F&M responded with a layup from Parra and another triple from Grauslys to get the Diplomats within four. Both teams traded layups to make the score 56-52 in favor of the Blue Jays with 14:27 remaining in regulation. From that point, Elizabethtown outscored F&M, 12-5, in the next six minutes to grow its lead to 68-57.

Franklin & Marshall chipped away at the deficit as Elizabethtown's lead was reduced to five with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Sebastien Charles connected on a three-pointer, followed by Grauslys making a free throw to get the Diplomats within two. However, the Blue Jays sealed the game with four free throws in the final 15 seconds to hold off F&M.

Parra led the Diplomats with 23 points and 11 rebounds for his second-consecutive double-double. The senior shot 81.8 percent (9-for-11) from the field, while also knocking down five free throws. Grauslys and Nowoswiat finished the game with 17 points each. Nowoswiat corralled eight rebounds, while Grauslys made two three-pointers in the contest.  Seidman also finished in double-digit scoring figures with 14 points and six rebounds in the game.

As a team, F&M shot 45 percent (27-for-60) from the field and 25 percent (4-for-16) from beyond the arc.

Franklin & Marshall looks to bounce back next Wednesday when it hosts its home opener against Lancaster Bible at 7:30 p.m.