ALTOONA, Pa.— After a frustrating close contest, the Franciscan University men's basketball team fell to Penn State Altoona with a final score of 83-79.

In a close first half, the Franciscan University Barons were unable to secure a lead on the Lions, trailing by a few points until early in the second half. A layup by junior forward Joseph Rine and a jump shot by junior Justin Horstman, however, ended the struggle for a short time and secured a one point lead for the Barons.

As the second half progressed, Franciscan widened their lead to ten (77-67) with four minutes on the clock. In a run of bad possessions, the tide turned in favor of the Lions. During the final minutes of the game, Horstman made a fast break layup, rallying the Barons offense. Several Altoona foul shots, however, saw the Lions ahead and sealed the deal as a Baron loss.

"We didn't take care of the basketball, which put too much pressure on our defense." Head coach John Lamanna said. "When we turned the ball over, it provided easy baskets for Altoona. During that crunch time of the game, it's a priority that we take care of the basketball and don't leave empty stretches out on the floor."

Despite their late-game turnover woes, the Baron offense remained consistent, with five players scoring in the double digits: juniors Horstman and Rine, along with sophomore guards Timmy Schenk and Daniel Kleinschnitz and junior guard Moses Sullivan. Horstman was the high scorer of the night with 13 points, keeping the offense alive.

Overall, Lamanna stated that the team put forth strong effort but suffered in the final minutes of the game.

"Everybody contributed and everybody made a play to help us be successful. It was a group effort," Lamanna said. "We competed hard. We just came up short."

The Baron coach added that the shortcomings of this game will be the focus of the team's training in preparation for Saturday's game against Penn St. Behrend.

"We're going to try to improve upon where we are, try to learn how to manage the clock better down the stretch of the game, and work on executing," Lamanna said.

Now 2-7 overall and 1-3 in conference games, the Barons will travel to face Penn St. Behrend on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2pm.