STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Franciscan University men's basketball played one of their best defensive games of the season but fell victim to a cold shooting night in a 71-53 home loss to Muskingum College.

The young Barons started a particularly inexperienced lineup. With senior captain Moses Sullivan injured, Franciscan started five players in their first year with program and it showed early with a hesitant offensive effort. The usually sharp shooting Barons, who average over seven three-point field goals a game, hit just two in the first half along with 25 percent shooting from the field.

The game stayed close, however, thanks to a defensive effort that kept the Muskies from finding open shots. The Barons, who have been giving up 72 points per game, limited their Muskingum to just 29 first half points.

"Our defense kept us in the game, that's for sure," Head Coach John Lamanna said. "We had multiple times where we had three or four stops in a row. There were stints where we really controlled their offense."

The second half saw both teams convert more often on scoring chances. While the Baron's continued to struggle from range, they improved in another one of their previous weak points, scoring at the rim.

Freshman forwards Daniel McElroy and John Paul Dombrowski continued to show their progressive development, combining for 11 points and 11 rebounds. McElroy showcased one of his best offensive games of the season, highlighted by a layup off of a heads up cut into the lane to show for a teammate who was double teamed along the baseline.

"I thought we did a better job than we have done finishing at the rim," Lamanna said. "John Paul had a great post presence down low and Daniel showed some really good things tonight."

Another significant contributor, particularly in the second half, was junior Christian Duke whose seven points and nine rebounds were a big reason for the Baron's 15 second chance points and 18 points off the bench.

In the end, those efforts weren't enough to overcome the Muskies who scored 42 points in the second half, due in large part to the play of Joshua Glass and Logan Kimble.

While Franciscan lost its seventh game of the season, Lamanna said he liked a lot of what he saw from his team, particularly without Sullivan, their leading scorer.

"I was encouraged even though the score was lopsided tonight. The areas where we have usually struggled, we improved in," Lamanna said. "If we continue to bring our weaknesses up and have our good shooting nights, we'll be tougher to play against."

The Barons will look to combine those improved weaknesses with better shooting when they restart conference play with a road game against Pitt-Greensburg on January 7 at 8 pm.