LANCASTER, Pa.- The (RV) Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (20-4, 9-3 Centennial Conference) allowed a season-low 45 points in Wednesday's 68-45 victory over visiting Dickinson (6-18, 3-9 Centennial Conference).

Kevin Nowoswiat led the team with 20 points plus three assists. Asad Syed and Sean Donovan each reached ten points from the bench, a career-high mark for both players. Syed had two triples, four rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot, and one steal, while Donovan also recorded five rebounds with an assist. Steve Donahue also recorded ten points alongside four steals. Franklin Jones led the team with six rebounds while leveling Donahue with four steals.

Both sides struggled to convert baskets in the opening minutes, as they held a 3-0 lead through the opening 3:30. The Red Devils broke their scoreless opening with a ten-point run over the next two minutes where all points came via Dickinson's Dane Moran. Jones broke the run with a layup, initiating a 12-point run that featured threes from Syed and Vakaris Grauslys. This put F&M's lead at 15-10 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. 

After a phase of trading points, Dickinson recorded seven unanswered points to tie the game at 19-apiece. Donovan returned momentum back to the Diplomats with a tip-in dunk from a missed three and triple on back-to-back possessions for another five-point F&M advantage. The lead stayed at five points with three minutes to play. In the remaining time, the Diplomats outscored Dickinson 7-4 with threes from Grauslys and Syed to carry a 33-25 lead into the break. The Diplomats went 45.5% (5-of-11) beyond the arc, but struggled from the charity stripe, sinking 44.4% (4-of-9) chances. F&M made use of the 12 Red Devils turnovers they forced, scoring nine points from these scenarios. Donovan already eclipsed his career-high points total in the first half with 20 points, while Donahue forced four steals in that span. 

Nowoswiat began the half with four points across the first two minutes to give the Diplomats a double-digit lead for the first time. Dickinson broke a three-minute scoreless run with a layup before the Diplomats broke away with eight unanswered points in a two-minute span for a 45-27 lead with 13:45 left. The run saw scoring from four different Diplomats including three points from Bryson Amos-Whitfield. Dickinson could get no closer than 14 points in the remaining time, as F&M eventually won by 23. The Red Devils' offense was completely shut down from the field in the second half, as they shot 22.2% (6-of-27) on field goals and missed all 12 three-point field goal chances.

F&M ended the game with a 39-37 rebounding advantage, and they forced 21 turnovers while conceding just ten. Across the 40 minutes Dickinson was held to a 28.6% (14-of-49) field goal percentage and 12.5% (3-of-24) three-point field goal percentage. 30 of F&M's points came via the bench, including the 20 combined from Donovan and Syed.

The Diplomats conclude the 2025-26 regular season by hosting conference leaders Gettysburg on Saturday, February 21, at 2:00 p.m. 

While the Diplomats will begin the Centennial Conference Tournament at home, Saturday's results will determine if the team garners a first-round bye. F&M enters Saturday level with (RV) Johns Hopkins and Ursinus on Centennial Conference record in a race for the second seed and a first-round bye. The Blue Jays hold the advantage in the event of a three-way tie. In a tie against just Johns Hopkins, the Blue Jays maintain the tiebreak advantage, while Ursinus holds the tiebreak advantage over F&M.

Centennial Conference Tiebreaker Format

1. All seeds other than the final seed will be determined by applying the following criteria in the order listed:
   1. Head-to-head winning percentage Centennial Conference competition among the tied teams;
   2. Team with the best winning percentage vs. teams in descending order of standing (1st place, 2nd, etc.);
   3. NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings at the conclusion of the conference regular season.
   4. Coin flip by the Executive Director;
   5. When any secondary criteria in a multiple-team tie favors one team over the others, that team earns the seed and is removed from the tie-breaker. Re-apply the criteria to all remaining teams, starting with the Conference's primary tiebreaker for all sports (head-to-head winning percentage Centennial competition)