A dominant second-half performance paved the way for the ninth Centennial Conference Championship in program history for the (RV) Franklin & Marshall men’s basketball team (21-6, 11-2 Centennial), as the Diplomats defeated Johns Hopkins 60-47 at the Mayser Center on Sunday afternoon.

John Seidman earned Centennial Conference Tournament MVP honors, averaging 16.0 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, shooting 45.8% on field goals and 57.1% on threes across the tournament weekend.

Seidman led the offense on the day with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots, and two steals. Josh Parra shot 6-of-7 (85.7%) on field goals, totaling 12 points and seven rebounds. Vakaris Grauslys was 3-of-5 (60.0%) on threes, posting 11 points and three assists. Kevin Nowoswiat scored eight points.

Hopkins scored the first bucket of the game 45 seconds in, but F&M followed this with a 7-1 run with five points from Grauslys. After trading buckets for several minutes, the Blue Jays got back within a point at 11-10 with 12:06 to go. Following a Hopkins dunk to yet again reduce the gap to one, a Seidman three swiftly put F&M back in front 18-14. Over the next seven minutes, F&M maintained the pace, outsourcing the Blue Jays 6-4 in a low-scoring spell. Five points from Hopkins in the last 90 seconds left the halftime lead at 24-23. Both teams struggled from range in the first half, as F&M shot 3-of-16 (18.8%) and Hopkins went 2-of-13 (15.4%).

As has become common this season, F&M soared away from their opponents to open the second half. A Grauslys three opened the half, while a Seidman block a possession later eventually led to a Parra layup, quickly putting the Diplomats ahead 29-23 inside of 45 seconds. Hopkins stalled the run for a couple minutes, reducing the gap to two. This was followed by the key momentum swing of the game, as F&M scored 12 unanswered points over the next five minutes in a run that featured five points from Steve Donahue. With 10:31 to go, the hosts led 41-27.

The lead got as low as eight on three occasions, with the latest time coming with 3:25 to go. Hopkins converted a layup plus an and-one, but F&M struck right back with a Grauslys three. The Blue Jays’ next possession saw them draw a shooting foul beyond the arc, but they were only able to convert one of three chances for a 54-44 scoreline and 2:18 on the clock. The Diplomats denied Hopkins’ offense and took advantage of tactical fouls by converting on 6-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes, eventually winning 60-47.

After struggling on threes in the first half, F&M was a clinical 6-of-12 (50.0%) in the second half. Across the 40 minutes, they kept turnovers to just six while forcing 14.

Head coach Nick Nichay earns his first Centennial Conference Championship as head coach, while it’s the program’s ninth overall. It’s the first title since the 2015-16 season. The automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament marks the 26th time the Diplomats book a spot, while it’s the first trip for the program since 2017-18.

With an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Diplomats will learn their first and second-round regional pod during Monday’s selection show. The selection show will be streamed at NCAA.com on Monday, March 3, at 12:30 p.m. The 64-team, single-elimination tournament consists of 42 automatic qualifiers and 22 at-large bids. The first round is slated for Friday, March 7, while the second round (regional final) is scheduled for Saturday, March 8.