LANCASTER, Pa. – The Dickinson men's basketball team entered Wednesday night's showdown at rival Franklin & Marshall College knowing that a pair of wins in the final week of the regular season would most likely earn them a place in next week's Centennial Conference tournament. Unfortunately, for the Red and White that proposition is now no longer completely in their control as despite solid outing from
Nate Ogbu the Devils fell to the Diplomats by a score of 78-57 at the Mayser Center.
Dickinson had a hot-hand from early as triples by
Isaiah Edmond and
Matt Mahoney had DC ahead 6-4 with 3:38 gone. A pair of foul shots for John Seidman and a jumper from Kevin Nowoswiat gave the hosts an 8-6 edge. Five of the next eight went the way of the Devils as Edmond hit from deep once again, while
David Petrusev converted in the paint to draw the Devils even at 11-11 with 13:09 left. The Diplomats came back with a 7-2 charge over the next three-plus minutes as Sebastien Charles, Josh Parra and Nowoswiat made it 18-13. A tough layup finished off by
Nate Ogbu pulled DC within 18-15, but Charles, Nowoswiat and Seidman came roaring back tallying the ensuing nine straight points to open up a sizable lead at 27-15 at the 15:28 mark. The Red and White continued to fight hard with buckets by
Anthony Goeb and Petrusev trimming the gap down to 30-22. However, a corner trey from Charles in the final minute made it 33-22 at the half.
The rest did the Devils some good as they opened the scoring in the second period with five straight thanks to a triple by
Brandon Wiercinski and turnaround jay for Ogbu closed it to 33-27. However, seven in a row for Nowoswiat quickly stretched the lead back to 13 (40-27) with not even four minutes gone. The frame of runs continued as Dickinson answered back with the next seven as Ogbu buried a trey and finished at the rim, while
Randy Shephard added a layup in transition off a nice dish from Wiercinski cutting the deficit to six (40-34). After another 5-0 spurt by the Diplomats,
Andrew Gostovich, Goeb and Ogbu responded to make it 45-40. F&M used the next couple of minutes extend their lead with Vakaris Grauslys, Nowoswiat, and Parra embarking on a 13-2 rampage extending the gap to double-digits once again (58-42) at the 11:35 mark. The home side continued to find the bottom of the net courtesy of Omar Nichols, Grauslys, and Parra, while at the other end of the floor Mahoney, Ogbu and Wiercinski delivered from long-range to leave it 68-53 with just under five minutes to play. Mahoney and Ogbu would each add a basket the remainder of the game as the Diplomats locked up the 78-57 win.
Red Devil Leaders
Points – Ogbu (21), Mahoney (8)
Assists – Gostovich (3)
Rebounds – Ogbu (6)
Diplomat Leaders
Points – Nowoswiat (18), Grauslys (14), Charles and Nichols (12), Seidman (10)
Assists – Seidman (7), Parra (4)
Rebounds – Parra (12)
Postseason Outlook
The Devils will now enter their regular season finale on Saturday against Ursinus College knowing that they need at least a win against the Bears as well as a loss by Muhlenberg against Gettysburg in order to even have a chance at qualifying for the tournament.
Next on the Court
Dickinson (9-15, 6-11 Centennial) will wrap up the regular season on Saturday afternoon at 4pm when they host Ursinus College inside the Kline Center. It will be Senior Day for the Devils!
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