STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — The Baron basketball team suffered a loss at the hands of Penn State Fayette in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd on Tuesday evening. The Barons were defeated by the Roaring Lions, 67-63.

Despite the loss, the Barons showed improvement on both offense and defense — the offense temporarily found the rhythm it has been seeking in the first games of its season and the defense gave up only one three-pointer in the first half—and ended the game with the closest margin they have seen all season. The Barons trailed 30-21 at halftime, but dictated the pace of play early in the second half to close the gap.

"We made progress tonight," said Baron head coach John Lamanna. "This was our fourth game, and also the fourth time we've shown great improvements on both sides of the basketball. I'm really encouraged with the growth of the program."

Leading the Barons in points was freshman guard Matt Binder, who tallied 14 points on the night with two field goals, three three-pointers, and one free-throw. Following him was freshman forward Caleb Knorr, adding 12 points for Franciscan. Junior guard Frank Murray put up 10 points on the night; Coach Lamanna noted that he was particularly pleased with Murray's execution on offense.

The remainder of the night's final score was contributed by freshmen; forward Nolan Albrecht added 11 points for the Barons with five field goals and one free-throw, guard Joe Spears tallied nine points on the night with three field goals and three free-throws, and forward Peter Amrein contributed three field-goals and one free-throw, totaling seven points.

 "We're going to work on end-of-game situations, offensive execution, and finishing defensive plays," Lamanna said about his strategy for the team's next game.

The Barons—who have not entered conference play yet — are 0-4 on the season. They are scheduled to play non-conference opponent St. Vincent College on Monday, Nov. 28 at 7:00 p.m.