LANCASTER, Pa. – The Neumann University men's basketball team returned from winter break on Saturday afternoon, falling in a tightly contested non-conference game at Franklin and Marshall College by a score of 62-59.

Waheem Lowman led the team with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Justin Smith picked up a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dennis Robinson also recorded double-digit points with 12 and Sanoussi Abdourhamane chipped in with eight points and nine rebounds.

The Knights returned from break with a strong first half road effort, never trailing in the opening 20 minutes of play. Neumann built its lead to a game-high nine points with a Lowman layup at the 9:57 mark to make it 19-10 in favor of the visitors. The Diplomats surged late in the half though, fighting back to tie the contest just 46 seconds before halftime. Smith answered back with a layup for Neumann with 26 seconds left to play to give the Knights a 27-25 halftime lead. Lowman led the way with 14 of his 24 points in the opening half.

The second half would be a back and forth affair. After a Smith layup put the Knights up by four just 28 seconds into the half, Franklin and Marshall went on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 31-29 at the 17:22 mark. The Diplomats would hold a small lead for the next few minutes, but a Neumann run midway through the frame put the Knights back on top. After tying the score 35-35 with 13:40 to play, the visitors capped a 10-2 run with a Robinson jumper to build a 45-37 lead with 9:45 left to play.

Neumann would cling to a narrow advantage until late in the game, when the Diplomats began to chip away at the lead. Franklin and Marshall levelled the contest at 55 apiece with 2:10 remaining in the half to set up a back and forth finish. The Knights inched ahead with a free throw from Lowman to make it 56-55, but four unanswered points from the hosts made it 59-56 with 1:07 left to play.

Robinson cut the lead to 59-58 with a layup with 50 seconds to play, then solid defense from the Knights resulted in a missed shot from the Diplomats with 19 seconds left. Smith picked up a key defensive rebound on the play and was fouled, sending him to the line for a pair of free-throws that could give Neumann the lead. Smith made hist first attempt to knot the game up at 59-59, but his second free throw caromed off the rim to a Diplomat as the game remained tied.

Franklin and Marshall held for one last shot and despite good defense from Neumann, a Diplomat shooter was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with just one second left to play. The hosts then nailed all three free-throws to make it 62-59, leaving the Knights with just a second left to tie things up. The second would not be enough time to get off a shot, as the Knights fell in the heartbreaker by a score of 62-59.

Neumann (6-7) will now focus on Atlantic East Conference play for the remainder of the season. The Knights will host rival Cabrini University in their first conference game next Wednesday, January 8^th at 8:00 PM.