CLINTON, N.Y.- After erasing an eight-point halftime deficit against Hamilton, the Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team led for much of a tightly-contested second half in a 65-62 win at Hamilton (11-2) to conclude non-conference competition.
Kevin Nowoswiat led the offense with 18 points, shooting 7-of-13 on field goals with seven rebounds. Dylan Cormac contributed 13 points from the bench, shooting 4-of-10 from the field and 3-of-8 on three pointers. Vakaris Grauslys was perfect on eight trips to the charity stripe, as he totaled ten points and led the team in both steals (3) and blocked shots (2). Sebastien Charles led the team with three assists.
Hamilton opened the game with a layup, while F&M drew level on a Nowoswiat step-back jump shot a minute later. From there, the Continentals posted eight unanswered, including two threes from the right corner, to lead 10-2 in the opening five minutes. F&M called timeout and responded with five points from John Seidman via a three and layup. Hamilton followed this with a 7-1 run to hold a 17-8 lead with 9:30 left. A Nowoswiat three broke the run for a moment, as Hamilton scored seven straight, including two threes, to now lead 24-11. The lead hovered around ten points for the next five minutes, although the Diplomats got back within four points on a six-point run capped by a Dylan Cormac three to trail just 30-26 with a minute to go. Hamilton was able to push back to an eight-point cushion at halftime, capping the half with a buzzer-beating layup.
Nowoswiat opened the second half with a long three, although this was countered by three points from Hamilton over their next two possessions to keep the margin at eight. Layups from Cormac and Josh Parra brought the deficit down to four before being interrupted by a Hamilton three, giving the hosts a 40-33 lead through four minutes. The Diplomats scored five unanswered, including another Cormac three, to get back within two at 38-40. Following a free throw from the Continentals, the Diplomats claimed their first lead of the game thanks to layups from Asad Syed and Nowoswiat to lead 42-41 with 13:35 to go. Hamilton took the lead for a possession on a three, as Cormac again converted a three-pointer to give the Diplomats a lead that would hold to the finish.
F&M maintained a lead of a couple points for the rest of the half, pushing as high as four points on three occasions. A pair of Seidman free throws with 1:15 left put F&M up 61-57 with 1:15 to go. Hamilton came back within one point on the next possession, converting an open left-wing three and calling timeout. Upon returning, Grauslys drew a foul and sank both of his free throws to go up by three. Hamilton scored two on their next turn and forced an F&M turnover on a high press, down 63-62 with 37 seconds to go. They missed a jump shot and the ball went out of play and back to F&M with 15 seconds left. After an unsuccessful Diplomats trip to the charity stripe, they would earn a defensive rebound on the next Hamilton possession, draw a foul, and Charles sank 2-of-2 free throws with three seconds to go. Hamilton was unable to get a shot away.
The Diplomats open the Centennial Conference slate as they host McDaniel on Saturday, January 11, at 3:00 p.m.
