Franklin & Marshall College

ARLINGTON, Va.- The (RV) Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (1-1) fought off a late charge from hosts Marymount (0-2), executing in the final minutes to earn a 62-57 victory after the Saints erased an earlier ten-point deficit.

Kevin Nowoswiat posted 19 points in back-to-back games, shooting 5-of-10 on field goals and 8-of-9 on free throws with five rebounds. Vakaris Grauslys had 14 points, including two triples, with two steals. Carter Lawrence shined from the bench, posting 13 points with two steals in 22 minutes. Bryson Amos-Whitfield led F&M with seven rebounds. 

In a statistically competitive matchup, the Diplomats drew an advantage on free throws, converting on 14-of-15 (93.3%) chances at the charity stripe while the Saints converted on just 10-of-18 (55.6%) of their free throws. 

Entering the second half with a 31-25 lead, the Diplomats faced some early pressure following back-to-back Saints layups to open the half. The Diplomats countered this with a six-point run, pushing their lead to 37-29, maintaining that lead up to 49-39 with 11 minutes to play. At this point, the Saints consistently reduced the deficit with a 14-point run over a six-minute span to give the hosts a 53-49 lead with five minutes to play. Nowoswiat scored for the first time in nearly seven minutes with a layup with 4:27 to play. Lawrence tied things up at 53-53 two possessions later following his offensive rebound. 

The Saints drew a foul on their next possession, giving them a two-point advantage entering the final two minutes. Grauslys swiftly swung momentum back in the Diplomats' favor with a three and layup from his steal all within a 30 second span, putting F&M ahead 58-55. Marymount got back within a point with a layup, but Lawrence executed at the free-throw line, going 2-of-2 to put F&M ahead 60-57 with 20 seconds left. The Diplomats defense didn't allow a shot from the Saints until there were three seconds remaining, and Nowoswiat forced a steal following a missed three. He drew a foul with 1.2 seconds left and sank both of his free throws to confirm an F&M victory.

The Diplomats opened the first half  with five points in the first two minutes via a Bohdan Biekietov three on the first possession and a Nowoswiat layup a minute later. The Saints got on the board following this for a 5-3 scoreline. The Diplomats maintained their lead over the next few minutes, leading 9-3 through the first four minutes. A Diplomats foul on a Saints three gave Marymount a chance to tie things up, and three-of-three at the charity stripe put the score at nine-apiece. A top of the key three from Nowoswiat broke the deadlock, and he added to the lead a possession later with a free throw for a 13-9 advantage. The Diplomats led 15-11 through the first seven minutes. 

At this point, Marymount went on a nine-point run culminating in a three to give the hosts a 20-15 advantage. Lawrence stopped the run with a three, but this was countered by a Saints three. Behind by five with 6:30 remaining, the Diplomats swung momentum back their way with three from Grauslys and Amos-Whitfield to reclaim the lead at 24-23. Nowowswiat extended the lead further, going 5-of-5 on free throws over two possessions to give F&M a 29-23 lead before heading into the halftime break with a 31-25 lead. The Diplomats were effective beyond the arc in the first half, converting on 5-of-13 (38.46%) of their chances, while they sank just 1-of-8 (12.50%) in the second half.

The Diplomats return to action for this weekend's Rutgers-Newark Tournament, opening on Friday against Pitt.-Bradford at 5:00 p.m.