STEUBENVILLE, Ohio—With hopes of keeping post-season play alive, the Franciscan men's basketball team took on La Roche College with a defense effort that at times seemed impenetrable . In the end the Barons redeemed an 11 point loss to the Hawks earlier in the year with a 62-58 win.

"This game keeps our playoff hopes alive and it's just a good program win," head coach John Lamanna said. "We executed the game plan really well and then defensively we really got after it."

The Baron defense came out ready to make every stop possible as they trapped La Roche time and time again forcing 11 turnovers on the game.

"We played defensively better in the second half than we did in the first half and we played good defensive first half," Lamanna said.

The Barons threw a number of different defensive looks at La Roche. The unpredictable defensive sets along with good one-on-one defense forced the Red Hawks into bad shots. In the first half the Barons held the Red Hawks to 34 percent shooting and then proceeded to improve on that number, holding them to 27 percent in the second half.

"We flat out guarded them," Lamanna said, adding that his team was able to convert on the offensive end as well. "Our offense was firing all cylinders in the second half."

The team shot 54 percent from the field in the second half, answering La Roche every time they pulled within three points. In the first half it was junior guard Moses Sullivan who led FUS offensively but in the second half, the scoring became more even.

"It was definitely a team effort as we limited our mistakes and came out and won," junior forward Joesph Rine said.

Rine had a double-double raking in 11 points and 13 rebounds. Sullivan led the team in points with 21 and added 7 rebounds. Sophomore guard Timmy Schenk ended a game and a half long scoreless slump with 11 clutch points including two free throws that sealed the game.

"Those three guys played really really well," Lamanna said. "Teams know that Timmy is a shooter and he's still growing and working on learning how to score after he has been scouted."

Lamanna also said that chemistry between Rine and Schenk, two second-year players in the program, caused problems for La Roche. Schenk's three-point shooting prowess, and Rine's big frame and versatile inside game, led to a good inside-out game as well as a slew of effective pick-and-rolls.

"This late in the season to be still playing games that matter is a big step for our program," Rine said.

The Barons have a 6-14 overall record and are 5-10 in the AMCC. That ties them for the most conference wins in program history, and best record since becoming full NCAA members. Franciscan now sits just two spots short of a playoff appearance.

"For the growth of our program and for what we've been doing in terms of building Franciscan men's basketball, that was a good win for us," Lamanna said. "The guys they fought hard and are competitive as the kept the season alive and going."

Rine said the team has to have a quick turnaround as they play at Medaille College on Feb. 15 at 1p.m. The Barons beat the Mavericks by one point, in the final four seconds at home earlier this year.