STEUBENVILLE, Ohio— Freshman guard Rich Cross found himself open at the three-point line on each of the Barons' first three possessions in a game at Geneva College.  He nailed all three shots, scoring nine of his points on the night, helping Franciscan to build a 14-point lead just seven minutes into the game.

The Barons would need every point of that lead as they held off the Golden Tornadoes of Geneva to win 63-59 to earn second place at the Geneva Tip-Off Classic.

From the tip, the Barons took advantage of their open looks, wiping away any memory of the previous night's tough loss to Carnegie Mellon University.

"We're a good shooting team," head coach John Lamanna said.  "We just haven't been able to demonstrate that.  Tonight showed all the hard work we've been putting in."

Lamanna said that this great start helped the Barons to move on from what could have been a demoralizing loss the previous night.

The most telling stat of the night, however, was the 10 turnovers that the Barons gave up after committing a combined 49 in their previous two games.  Lamanna said he was impressed with the decision making of the team.

They finished the half up by 11, but Geneva would begin to work their way back into the game in the second half.

Defensively, the Barons started to look more exposed as Geneva continued to pound the ball in to the post with lobs and bounce passes.  The Barons also gave up 10 offensive rebounds.

Lamanna said he believes the defensive rotations are still too slow at this stage of the season.  It was much more apparent in the second half as Geneva mounted their comeback eventually coming within one point of tying it up.

The Baron defenders were also playing softer on-ball defense in the second half allowing the easy entry passes into the post.

"We're still looking on how to expand our defensive scheme," Lamanna said.  "I'm pleased with the progress, but by no means are we a polished, finished product right now."

Geneva kept drawing closer and closer to the Barons, cutting the lead to seven with eight minutes left and to three with two minutes left

 "I told the guys, 'If we're going to do this it's going to be done on the defensive end of the floor,'" Lamanna said.

Team defense and clutch plays from sophomore point guard Jacob Divens and senior guard Moses Sullivan allowed the Barons to hang on in the final minutes of the game.

Divens made two vital driving layups in the waning minutes to keep Franciscan ahead, while Moses grabbed a crucial rebound in the final two minutes and made two high-pressure free throws to keep the Barons just out of reach of Geneva.  He finished with a modest nine points and eight boards on one for seven shooting, but Lamanna said that all of his points came at important times when the Barons badly needed a bucket.

At the close of the Classic, Divens and Cross were named to the all-tournament team.

"Both of them played really well tonight on both sides of the ball," Lamanna said.

The Barons finished second in the Classic and hope to continue improvements at Alfred St. on Sunday, Nov. 30.