STEUBENVILLE—Trailing by 24 points heading into the second half, the Franciscan University men's basketball team seemed like a different team as they stepped back onto the court to mount an improbable comeback against the number two team in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference: the Medaille College Mavericks. The Barons went on a second half 22-7 tear that unfortunately proved to be too little too late, and Franciscan was defeated by the Mavericks, 75-71.

Medaille came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, shooting 65% to the Barons 30%. "We were just cold," said Baron head coach Sean Donovan. "We couldn't get into the rhythm of our offense." Franciscan only managed to hit eight field goals in the first half and left the score at halftime, 41-17.

The Barons faced a 60-40 deficit with 10 minutes remaining in the game when suddenly the team turned the game around. The run started with a three-point play from Thomas Kleinschnitz, followed by five consecutive Franciscan three-point field goals: two by Sean Wayne and one each from Kleinschnitz, Connor Flanagan, and Nate Stanton. At that point, the Medaille lead was chiseled down to nine, and another Kleinschnitz lay-up forced Medaille to take a timeout.

"We upped the pressure and that led to some things coming from the offensive end," Donovan added. "Connor [Flanagan] hit some big threes to get us back in the game. We had some great play from our captains tonight."

With 14 seconds left the Barons were down by three. Kleinschnitz hit a lay-up to make the score 70-69, the closest Franciscan had come all night to toppling the Maverick lead. But the Mavericks went on a 5-1 run, getting some big rebounds and forcing turnovers to seal a 75-71 defeat.

Kleinschnitz finished with a game-high of 22 points, Flanagan pitched in with 18, and Zachary Miser tallied 14 on the night.

"This is a top team in our conference every year," Donovan noted about Medaille. "It just proves we can run with everyone."

The Barons have one more game before their holiday break, traveling to Bethany College on Tuesday, December 14. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.