NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (5-3) fell to Christopher Newport Holiday INNvitational hosts No. 10 Christopher Newport (7-2) 72-64 on Sunday afternoon.

For the second-straight game, Vakaris Grauslys and Kevin Nowoswiat led the offense as they each totaled 18 points. Nowoswiat totaled eight rebounds and shot 8-of-14 on field goals. Josh Parra (12 points, 5-of-7 field goals) and John Seidman (13 points) also achieved double-digits, with both players level with Nowoswiat with eight rebounds. 

Neither team led by more than four points in a tightly-contested first half that featured five lead changes and seven ties. Parra struck first with a layup on the first possession of the game, while CNU took the lead 3-2 off a free throw and layup from their first two possessions. A Nowoswiat jumper followed this, although the F&M lead was short lived following a three from the Captains 45 seconds later to lead 6-4. Franklin Jones tied things at 6-6 with a layup, starting a sequence of CNU scoring and F&M drawing level, with F&M erasing small deficits at 9-9 and 12-12. Down 15-12, Nowoswiat got back within a point at 15-14, but a Captains three gave the hosts their biggest lead so far at 18-14 with 11:33 to play. A three from Nowoswiat one minute later was directly countered by a CNU three to keep the lead at 21-17. 

A 7-0 run for F&M via a Grauslys three, Seidman layup, and Nowoswiat layup gave F&M a 22-21 lead, their first since the opening possession. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, with CNU tying things up at 24-24 and 26-26 but unable to draw ahead. They again tied the game at 30-30 on a jump shot with 90 seconds in regulation, with Seidman converting a pair of free threes a possession later. CNU tied the game yet again with a layup to put the scoreline at 32-32 through 20 minutes. 

A three for CNU to start the second gave them a lead they would not concede the rest of the way. Following a Parra layup, CNU scored the next seven points for a 42-34 lead with 15:19 to go. A Grauslys three with 11:34 narrowed the gap to four points, but F&M could get no closer the rest of the way, as the lead fluctuated between that margin and a game-high 12-point lead with 5:27 remaining.

F&M shot 45.5% on field goals, but the CNU defense limited them to 17.6% on threes. The Captains' bench contributed 26 points, while the Diplomats' bench didn't register any points.

Nowoswiat represented F&M on the CNU Holiday INNvitational All-Tournament Team, averaging 18.5 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game, 2.0 steals per game, and 1.5 assists per game across the weekend with a 50.0% field goal percentage and 85.7% free throw percentage. Against (RV) Saint Joseph (Conn.) yesterday, he recorded a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double.  

The Diplomats play just one game this week, as they travel to Neumann on Thursday, December 5, at 7:00 p.m.