LANCASTER, Pa. - After trailing by as many as 11 and tying the game with 10 minutes to play, the McDaniel College men's basketball team comeback came up just short in a 57-53 loss Saturday against Franklin & Marshall at the Mayser Center.

The Green Terror (5-6, 1-4 CC) suffered their third loss in three Centennial Conference road games this season and third in the last five games at the Mayser Center.

A jumper by Omar Nichols to begin the second half, gave the Diplomats their largest lead of the game, 33-22 with 19:45 remaining in the second half. However, McDaniel began to chip away at their deficit, using an 18-7 run to tie the game at 40-40 with 9:56 left.

During the run, the visitors got points from six different scorers as they went 8-of-13 from the floor. Meanwhile, they held F&M to just 3-of-14 shooting and forced three turnovers.

The Diplomats (9-2, 4-1 CC) extended their lead back to 10, 52-42 with 3:27 to play, but led by seven points from senior Chuck Contee, the Green Terror would use another run, this time 9-1, to get back within two, 53-51 with 22 seconds remaining.

Nevertheless, Franklin & Marshall made three free throws and totaled two offensive rebounds the rest of the way to improve to 5-1 at home this season.

Contee finished with 14 points and six rebounds while junior Lorin Hall added 14 points, four rebounds and two of the team's five assists. Sophomore Jonas Sujeta had 10 points and four rebounds as McDaniel's five starters combined for 47 of the team's 53 points.

The Green Terror return home for the first time since Dec. 8 on Tuesday when they welcome Swarthmore to the Gill Center for an 8 p.m. tip-off.