LANCASTER, Pa.- The fourth-seeded (RV) Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team (21-4, 10-3 Centennial Conference) begins the quest for back-to-back Centennial Conference Tournament Championships by hosting fifth-seeded Swarthmore (13-12, 7-6 Centennial Conference) in the tournament's first round on Tuesday, February 24, at 7:00 p.m.

Ticket Information

The Centennial Conference has announced that Hudl will serve as the ticket provider for CC championship events. Centennial fans will be able to find all scheduled postseason events on the Centennial ticketing homepage and quickly purchase tickets to receive via email. Fans will then use their smartphone to gain access at championship events through a simple and secure ticket validation process.  

Below are the ticket prices for each round of the postseason:
Adults - $10
Students (Age 6 through High School) - $5
Senior Citizens - $5
College Students, Faculty & Staff of Centennial Schools - FREE
Children 5 and Under – FREE

Tickets for Tuesday's game can be purchased HERE.

The Field

FIRST ROUND: Tuesday, Feb. 24 | at #3 & #4 seeds
#6 McDaniel @ # 3 Ursinus, 6:00 p.m.
#5 Swarthmote @ #4 Franklin & Marshall, 7:00 p.m.

SEMIFINALS: Friday, Feb. 27 | at #1 & #2 seeds
Higher seeded first round winner @ #2 Johns Hopkins, 6:00 p.m. 
Lower seeded first round winner @ #1 Gettysburg, 6:00 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, March 1 | at highest remaining seed 
Semifinals winners, time TBA

Entering the Centennial Tournament

The Diplomats enter the Centennial Conference Tournament following a 21-4, 10-3 Centennial Conference campaign to date. The team went on a 12-game winning streak from November 11th through January 10th, tying for the 13th-best winning streak in program history. It's tied for the longest winning streak under head coach Nick Nichay, leveling the late-season winning streak in 2024-25 that propelled the F&M to a Centennial Conference Championship and into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017-18. The Diplomats are perfect at home this season, remaining undefeated through 12 contests at the Mayser Center. F&M has also returned into the D3hoops.com Coaches Poll rankings for the first time since the 2017-18 season, spending three weeks in the top 25 so far with a best ranking of No. 19.
 
The team ranks among the best defensive sides across Division III, maintaining DIII's fifth-best scoring defense (60.4), fifth-best three-point field goal defense (27.6%), and 16th-best field-goal defense (39.0%). F&M is tied for the 16th-best winning percentage and has the 40th-best scoring margin (10.5) in the country. 

In his seventh season in charge of the Diplomats, Nick Nichay seeks his second Centennial Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance following the success of a season ago. He has led the F&M coaching staff to back-to-back Centennial Conference Coaching Staff of the Year Awards in the past two seasons and enters Tuesday's contest with a 95-61, 56-42 record as head coach. 

Players to Watch

Senior guard Kevin Nowoswiat has again been key to F&M's success in the 2025-26 success. The 2025 NABC All-America First Team player is one of four Centennial Conference players to rank inside the top ten in both points per game (16.6, sixth) and rebounds per game (7.2, fourth), while he is also fourth in field goal percentage (49.7%) and sixth in free throw percentage (74.1%). He's recorded ten-plus points in 21-of-25 games this season, including seven games with 20-plus points and five double-doubles. He has earned the Centennial Conference Player of the Week award three times this season. 

Senior guard Vakaris Grauslys has also maintained his consistent presence across the court this season. Among Centennial Conference players, the two-time All-Centennial Conference Second Team player ranks second in assists per game (3.6), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.7), ninth in steals per game (1.6), tenth in points per game (12.9), and fourth in free-throw percentage (75.2%), drawing a team-best 157 trips to the charity stripe this season. Grauslys had totaled ten-plus points in 21 games, 12 games with four-plus assists, and 12 games with multiple steals.

Sophomore guard Steve Donahue has established himself into the F&M starting lineup in 2025-26. He is currently averaging the 12th-most points per game (12.4) among Centennial Conference players, and has totaled 19 games with 12-plus points.  He's the team's most-efficient shooter beyond the arc, converting on 38.4% of his triples.  

After an injury-shortened sophomore campaign, junior forward Franklin Jones has been a key component of F&M's defensive record. Among Centennial Conference players, he is eighth in steals per game (1.6) and 11th in blocked shots per game (0.8) with five multi-block games and 12 multi-steal games. 

Scouting the Garnet

Fifth-seeded Swarthmore (13-12, 7-6 Centennial Conference) enters the Centennial Conference Tournament struggling for form. After opening the Centennial Conference slate with a 6-2 slate, they have since gone on a 1-4 run that began with their loss to the Diplomats on February 7. 

Among Centennial Conference sides, the Garnet have been the most reliant on threes, averaging a conference-high 8.7 triples per game, while they are also the most-efficient free-throw shooters (73.0%). Swarthmore maintains the second-best assist/turnover ratio and are third in assists per game (13.36).

Eddie Paquette leads the Garnet in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game for the sixth-best average in the conference. The senior guard is also third in three-point shooting percentage (37.4%), fifth in three-point field goals per game (1.7), and fifth in free-throw percentage (74.5%). Brady Kageyama is sixth in assists per game (2.7), while Zander Jimenez is averaging the ninth-most points per game (12.9.)

Head coach Shane Loeffler, a four-year player for the Garnet, is in his first year as the program's head coach after serving as both an assistant and associate head coach from 2017-18 onwards. While on the coaching staff, he has played a role in the Garnet securing six NCAA Tournament appearances and three Centennial Conference Championships. 

Series History vs. Swarthmore

The Diplomats maintain a 81-34 series record over the Garnet heading into Tuesday's matchup. After losing seven games in a row from 2019 through 2023 during a spell where the Garnet made a National Championship appearance and two Final Four appearances. F&M has since claimed three of the last four games over the Garnet. The most recent game was a 86-71 win at home on February 7. Five Diplomats had ten-plus points in that game including Kevin Nowoswiat (16), Steve Donahue (16), Vakaris Grauslys (15), Bryson Amos-Whitfield (13), and Carter Lawrence (11). Zander Jimenez and Matthew Maloney each posted 12 points for the Garnet. 

F&M does maintain a 2-0 record over Swarthmore in Centennial Conference Tournament games, including 2016's 75-64 win at the Mayser Center. The sides have combined to claim the last three Centennial Conference titles, as Swarthmore won in 2023 and 2024 ahead of the Diplomats' ninth program title in 2025. 

Court Club Donors

Thank you to our fantastic supporters who have already joined the Court Club for the 2025-26 season. Contact head coach Nick Nichay on how you can join the court club today.

Al Ingraham '72, Catherine Jasons '76, John Fischer '77, Mike Dee '85, Mark Maggioncalda '82, Carol & Mike Krzyzewski, Stephanie Lavenberg, Stephen & Melinda Frasher, Helen & Francois Moreau, Charles Meehan '69, Reeve Askew '66, Scott Cosby, Ty Savastio '12, Shannon & Deborah Donovan, Jeffrey & Sheri Brownstein, Richard Ryan '73, Michael & Ann Nowoswiat, Eric & Lynn Tuori, Brian Lewis '82, Michael '00 & Elizabeth Ritacco '02, Hunter Eggers '17, Terry Scott '87, Lester & Tara Satlow, Gillian Pearis, Stephen & Logan Donahue, Angela Slater, John Boyer '77, Rod & Lisa Lawrence, Colin & Carolina Cormac, Seth & Julie Berry, Samuel & Ellen Jannetta