STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Franciscan University Baron basketball team, still in search of its first win, hosted the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Saturday afternoon. Despite being down just seven early in the second half, the Barons were on the wrong end of a 38-12 stretch that followed, falling to the Panthers, 71-40.

"We're starting to play better," Baron head coach John Lamanna said, "but our struggles to score on the offensive end puts a lot of pressure on us defensively. We are constantly having to get back in transition [due to the high volume of missed shots offensively]. We're still improving, and with a young team, that's important. The fact that we continue to fight is really positive."

The Barons shot just 34 percent from the field on the afternoon, compared to 61 percent from Bradford, including 55 percent from the three-point range.

Freshman Nolan Albrecht continued to do the bulk of the work offensively for Franciscan, coming in with a game-high 19 points, and adding four rebounds and two assists.

"Nolan [Albrecht] has been somebody who we've been able to rely on to get points and the most exciting part about that is that he is only a freshman," Lamanna said. "He always sees the top defenders from other teams and the way that he is still able to produce speaks so highly of him as a player and the future of our program." 

The Barons travel to Mt. Aloysius on Wednesday, January 25, to take on the Mounties at 6 p.m.