STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — In lone Baron senior Frank Murray's final home game of his collegiate playing career, the Franciscan University men's basketball team fell to the Medaille College Mavericks, 83-62.

After starting the game off with Murray in the starting line-up and  an honorary tip-off getting him the ball, the Barons called a time out and Murray walked off the court to a standing ovation.

After the Senior Day festivities, the game began strong with Christian Duke and Justin Horstman leading the way offensively for Franciscan out of the gate, but Medaille took the lead halfway through the first half. The Mavericks dominated the offensive glass and got numerous second chance opportunities, which they converted into buckets.

Although the Barons played with renewed intensity in the last twenty minutes, they were unable to close the gap, something head coach John Lamanna attributed primarily to turnovers, rebounding, and foul shots.

"When you lose by 21 with only two less field goals than the opponent, you look and ask where the difference is," Lamanna said, "and it's about getting to the foul line, second chance opportunities for the other team, and turning the ball over. Until we can really seriously plug those holes, we'll keep experiencing what we're experiencing, but the guys are playing hard, they really are, and I'm very proud of them for how hard they're playing."

Despite these areas for improvement, Baron offense saw its best game of the season with a 51% shooting from the field thanks to Duke and Horstman, who had 14 and 18 points respectively. FUS guard Daniel Kleinschnitz also put up twelve points and was two for three from the 3-point line.

"They took the right shots and they took good shots, and that's what it comes down to: shot selection," Lamanna said, adding that Horstman's return to the team has given new life to its offensive production.

"He passed the ball and he took the shot at the right time, which is why he had such a good field goal percentage, and there's no question that that really helps our offense."

Lamanna also mentioned forward Joe Thomas who has recently seen significantly more playing time and who, with five boards, was the Barons top rebounder on the night.

As a show of respect to Murray and his dedication to the Baron basketball program, he was substituted into the game late in the second half, and made a lay-up before subbing out. Those were his final moments on the court as a Baron, and his first and last points of the season.

"I was really pleased with Frank," Lamanna said. "Unfortunately we're going to miss him. He's been a huge huge part of our program and really a huge part of the development of Franciscan basketball. It's too bad that he won't be a part of the final results, but he'll be forever engrained in the foundation of this program."

Murray has been out for the entirety of the season after tearing his ACL in the Barons first game of the year. He goes out with the career stats of seven points, three rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 assists per game in his career. He averaged 33 minutes per game in his two full seasons in a Baron uniform, and was named the 2010-2011 Barons Defensive Player of the Year.

As the Barons face their final two games of the season, Lamanna said they will be focusing on bringing the program to a new level and setting the foundation for next season.

"We're different from anybody else in the conference because essentially, outside of Frank Murray, we have everybody returning. So, even though our season ends next week, our team and the program's movement forward will just keep continuing."

The Barons travel to play Mount Aloysius on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 8pm.