LANCASTER, Pa.- On a night marked by John Seidman reaching 1,000 career points, the Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (16-6, 8-2 Centennial) used a dominant second half to earn a 73-45 victory over Muhlenberg (8-14, 1-9 Centennial) on Wednesday night. With his eighth point of the night coming via a layup in the second half, Seidman became the 38th Diplomat to reach 1,000 points. He also joins Georgio Milligan '12, Chris Finch '92, and Brian Menet '89 as the only players in program history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 300 assists.

Dylan Cormac led the team offensively with 15 points, going 3-of-10 (30.0%) on threes and 4-of-4 on free throws. Kevin Nowoswiat recorded his sixth double-double of the season via 13 points and ten rebounds. Seidman collected nine points by shooting 4-of-12 (33.3%) on field goals with seven rebounds and four steals. Vakaris Grauslys posted a team-high five assists with ten points. Sebastien Charles also totaled four steals from the bench.

Muhlenberg had the upper hand to kick off the game, scoring the first five points of the game inside the first two minutes. Grauslys stopped the run with a three, but this was countered by another three from the Mules who now led 8-3. The Diplomats used a timeout following this and leveled the game with five-straight points. Muhlenberg swung momentum back their way with six-straight points over the next two minutes for their biggest lead of the night at 14-8 through the opening eight minutes. 

The teams traded buckets over their next possession to keep the gap at six. This was followed by a nine-point stretch for F&M, putting the Diplomats ahead 19-16. After trading baskets for two possession cycles, back-to-back threes from Cormac put the hosts ahead 27-20 with three minutes remaining in the first half, and they eventually led 29-22 at the intermission.

After a back-and-forth start to the second half, an eight-point run for F&M pushed them ahead 42-26 through the opening five minutes. The lead hovered around this mark through the middle of the second half before the Diplomats put the game away with a 9-0 run that included four free throws from Cormac and a three from Sam Davison, giving F&M a 61-36 lead with six minutes left. With three minutes left, Seidman rebounded his own shot and converted a layup to pass the 1,000-point mark. F&M capped the game with seven points in the final minute including five points from Riiny Giir and a dunk from Bryson Amos-Whitfield on a fast break. 

Yet again, the Diplomats kept turnovers to a minimum, committing just seven while forcing 19 from the Mules. From those 19 turnovers, F&M generated 27 points. 

The Diplomats will celebrate the program's seniors when they host Johns Hopkins for the regular season home finale on Saturday, February 15, at 3:00 p.m.