OBERLIN, Ohio – It looked like Franciscan University fielded two completely different teams in the first and second half as Baron basketball fell to Oberlin College 90-80 after being down 59-33 after the first half.

Franciscan came out flat off the opening tip, shooting poorly on offense and allowing easy looks on defense. The Yeomen compounded the problem by shooting fifty percent from behind the 3-point line and sixty-two percent from the field.

"Defensively and offensively we really did put up much of an outing in the first half," head coach John Lamanna said. "We just came out really flat unfortunately."

Thanks to the help of junior forward Moses Sullivan and a strong performance from the FUS bench, the Baron's looked like a new team in the second half, outscoring Oberlin 47-31 in the second half. Franciscan also out rebounded the Yeomen 21-10, and forced nine turnovers in the final twenty minutes.

"They could've absolutely said they were done after the first half. The fact that they kept battling and fought all the way back was really good," Lamanna said. "I think it was a good test and it speaks highly to the character of that group of guys."

A number of the players who helped the Barons turn the game around came off the FUS bench. Franciscan had 30 bench points to Oberlin's 20 and almost half of the Baron's rebounds came from reserve players.

Lamanna said that the effort of his bench players, like forward Jordan Wilkinson who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds, was the biggest thing he took away from the game.

"It was all about our bench in this game," Lamanna said. "Our comeback was spurred by them. They energized us and got us going."

Starting forward Moses Sullivan also led the way for the Baron's strong second half. Sullivan led the team in scoring for the second time this season with 23 points while pulling down five boards and dishing out three assists.

It was just Sullivan's tangible numbers that helped lift the Barons but also his ability to stay composed and focused when things aren't going well.

"He plays hard consistently and he helped spark us a little bit to help get us back," Lamanna said of the junior transfer. "He's been a welcomed addition to our program."

The loss puts Franciscan at 1-3 on the season but all three of the young team's losses have been by ten points or less. The Barons will look to close that gap and get their second win of the season at home on December 4 at 6 pm against conference foe Pitt-Greensburg.