LANCASTER, Pa.- The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (10-6, 2-2 Centennial) used a dominant second-half performance to earn a 86-61 victory over Haverford (5-11, 2-2 Centennial) at the Mayser Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

Kevin Nowoswiat stayed hot with a 22-point, eight-rebound performance. He shot 10-of-14 on field goals. Vakaris Grauslys collected ten points and a team-high five steals and four assists with two blocked shots. Steve Donahue was 3-of-4 on threes as he posted nine points, while Josh Parra also had nine points with six rebounds. 

The Diplomats were swift to build out a lead early, as they opened the game with a 13-2 run through the first 6:30 that was capped by a three from Donahue. Haverford stopped the run with five-straight points of their own before F&M posted six unanswered to lead 19-7 with 11:35 left in the first half. The lead reached a half-high of 14 with 7:14 left, but the Fords got back within six over the next five minutes via a 13-5 run to trail 32-26 with 2:51 left. The teams traded buckets to the end of the half, as F&M led 39-32 at the intermission.

The Fords got within a point within 75 seconds on a 7-1 run to open the second half. Franklin Jones stalled the comeback with a steal in transition and a dunk followed by a three from Cormac a couple minutes later for a 45-39 lead. Back-to-back threes from Donahue over the next two minutes put F&M back in control 51-41 with 13:17 left. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes before F&M built their lead to 19 thanks to an 11-5 run. Ahead 73-57 with 4:13 left, Nowoswiat erased any thought of a comeback with seven points over three possessions, as the Diplomats drew two steals over this spell for a 80-57 lead. The lead eventually reached 86-61 with five points coming from Riiny Giir in the last couple of minutes. 

The Diplomats generated 17 points from Fords turnovers in the second half. Over the course of the game, F&M forced 22 turnovers and limited their own turnovers to nine. F&M shot an efficient 50.8% on field goals and totaled 46 points in the paint. 

The Diplomats play at home again when they host Dickinson on Saturday, January 25, at 3:00 p.m.