STEUBENVILLE, Ohio— In a tough game against the top-ranked team in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, the Franciscan University men's basketball team suffered another loss, falling to the Mount Aloysius Mounties, 87-57.

The Barons started the game out on fire from three-point land as guards Peter Mooney and Christian Duke combined for three shots from deep early on. Power forward Joseph Rine helped the team keep pace with the Mounties, scoring eight points and gobbling up seven rebounds in the first half.

The score was tied at 20 a piece with nine minutes remaining in the first half when Mt. Aloysius went on a 20-point run which put the Barons behind by a deficit they were unable to overcome, despite an improved second-half performance.

"Prior to that point we were actually guarding very well and then all of a sudden we just had one break down that led to another break down," Baron head coach John Lamanna said, "And it doesn't help that we went scoreless during that seven-minute period too. Our lack of putting the ball in the hole during that stretch is what also aided in their confidence in their shooting."

Despite the Barons' difficulty scoring at times, Rine, Duke and Mooney kept the team on track with 17, 14 and 13 points, respectively. Rine was Franciscan high-scorer on the night, also added ten rebounds for a double-double, and increased his nationally-ranked blocking average with four blocks.

"Joe had just an incredible game. He's just playing better and better; and Christian also had a very good game," Lamanna said. "Another person that had a really good night was Peter Mooney. He came out ready to go; he hit some shots. What hurt Peter was he got into foul trouble in the first half and really, when we sat Peter was when things kind of exploded on us again."

Still, Lamanna said that the teams' ability to play with a top conference team shows what the Barons' are truly capable of.

"Now it's a matter of consistently doing it. We had a chance tonight to do so and we just couldn't take advantage of it."

As the Barons anticipate their second game of the season against Penn-Sate Altoona, however, Lamanna said the team is looking forward to having an opportunity to compete again and start the second half of conference play on a good note.

The team will travel to Penn-State Altoona University on Thursday, with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m.