ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team concluded its opening weekend with a 62-55 defeat at the hands of Muskingum on day two of Mount Union's M Club Classic. The Diplomats (0-2) were up by a point at halftime and built the lead to 14 points, 54-40, midway through the second half. The Diplomats were seemingly in rhythm on offense, but went cold from the field during the final six minutes as Muskingum scored 22 of the game's final 23 points in the come-from-behind effort.
Sean Donovan paced the Diplomats with a double-double as he scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. He was one of three Diplomats to finish in double figures. Steve Donohue led the team with 13 points, while Bryson Amos-Whitfield also scored 10 points.
Franklin & Marshall finished with a better shooting percentage while holding Muskingum to just 1-of-18 from beyond the arc. However, the Diplomats made just six trips to the free throw line all afternoon. That number loomed even larger when Muskingum came up with 12 steals among F&M's 20 turnovers.
The game featured just three lead changes and five tied scores throughout the contest. Franklin & Marshall claimed the lead for good in the first half when Asad Syed made a rare Diplomat trip to the free throw line to put his team up 19-18. That came as part of a 9-0 run which was F&M's largest run of the afternoon.
The Diplomats' largest lead of the second half was 14 points, first achieving that margin when first-year Nick Nsenkyire assisted on a Donohue triple before the scoring and assist roles were reversed on the ensuing trip down the court. Donohue later knocked down a jumper with 6:11 to go to match that 14-point lead at 54-40. Muskingum came all the way back by scoring on 12 of its final 13 offensive possessions while the Diplomats committed seven of their turnovers during that time span.
After opening the season in Ohio, the Diplomats will play their first home game of the season this Saturday, November 14 at 3 p.m. versus Elizabethtown.
