LANCASTER Pa.- Entering the night with the strongest defense in the Centennial Conference, the Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (14-6, 6-2 Centennial) thwarted the best-scoring offense in the conference, defeating Ursinus (12-8, 5-3 Centennial) 72-58. 

Five Diplomats reached double figures, led by 17 points from Vakaris Grauslys. He led the team with four steals and shot 5-of-7 on field goals, 2-of-3 on threes, and 5-of-6 on free throws. John Seidman totaled 14 points with a team-high four assists and eight rebounds. He is now just 21 points from reaching 1,000 career points. Kevin Nowoswiat recorded 12 points, Josh Parra totaled 11 points, and Sam Davison posted a career-high 11 points from the bench. 

The first half featured a few heavy momentum swings started by an opening eight-minute spell where the Diplomats outscored the Bears 14-2. F&M forced seven turnovers during this stretch, while Nowoswiat led the team's scoring efforts with five points. After using a timeout, the Bears got right back into the game via a 10-point run to trail 14-12 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Diplomats built out a double-digit advantage just as quickly as their lead evaporated, outshooting their opponents 10-2 over the next two minutes to lead 24-14. Over the remaining 5:30, Ursinus closed the gap down to six points at the halftime break, giving the hosts a 34-28 lead with 20 minutes to play. Davison led scoring for F&M, totaling ten points including a pair of threes. 

The teams traded buckets to kick off the second half, as the Diplomats held a 48-39 lead through the opening five minutes. The Bears used back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to five, but F&M swiftly countered with five points over the next two minutes to regain a double-digit lead. Ursinus got within six points with five minutes left, but they were unable to get any closer, as the Diplomats closed out the game with a 7-0 run in the final two minutes. 

The Diplomats outrebounded their opponents 35-33, while they drew 12 turnovers against 15 from the Bears. Both teams shot over 40.0% from the field, but Ursinus converted on just 4-of-25 (16.0%) beyond the arc compared to 10-of-31 (32.3%) for the Diplomats. F&M also drew an advantage via free-throw volume, converting on 14-of-20 (70.0%) chances, while Ursinus went 6-of-7 (85.7%). Despite the consistent presence from Ursinus, the Diplomats never gave up the lead following Nowoswiat's game-opening three. 

F&M travels to Swarthmore on Saturday, February 8, at 3:00 p.m.