ERIE, Pa.—Franciscan University men's basketball team hung with the no. 1 ranked team in the AMCC, Penn St.-Behrend, for the first half but fell prey to turnovers and a rough halftime transition which led to a 61-41 loss.

Although they were behind from the tip, the Barons managed to keep Behrend within reach for 16 minutes. With four minutes until the half, however, four fouls and two turnovers sent them to the locker room down by 10.

The start of the second half saw three more turnovers and two fouls for FUS, matched by several layups from Behrend which doubled the Lions' lead in just four minutes.

Despite a surge of offensive production at the eight minute mark, the Barons were unable to make up the difference. Another run from Behrend in the final minutes sealed the deal.

"It's about being able to finish stuff out," head coach John Lamanna said. "Inexperience played a role, along with the fact that this is something that we've been dealing with. How do you finish a half, and how do you get your energy up to compete coming out of halftime? The end of the first half and the beginning of the second were the difference in the game."

The other significant, negative factor for the Barons was 19 costly turnovers. The Lions capitalized on the Barons' struggle to maintain possession, scoring 16 points off of transitions.

"That's the game right there," Lamanna said. "If you count our offensive possessions, I would imagine it's somewhere in the upper 50s, maybe low 60s. If a third of the game you're giving the ball back to the opponent, then that's difficult. That's really difficult."

While turnovers were the big issue this game, Lamanna said that the team's overarching focus is the need to put together a solid 40 minutes on both ends of the court.

"We have too many holes and that's why we experience this inconsistency," Lamanna said. "If we could have put together a strong defensive game prior to the shot, rebounded the ball, and not turned the ball over that would have put us in a position to experience some success, but we're not there yet."

Despite some rough patches defensively, the Barons had 25 rebounds to Behrend's 26 and held the Lions to 4 offensive boards compared to their conference average of 12.

"We did a good job on the boards. We've learned that we can rebound and that it's nothing out of the ordinary for us to be able to compete on the glass," Lamanna said. "That's a big reason we were able to hold them to 61."

Junior captain Christian Duke, senior captain Moses Sullivan, and freshman John-Paul Dombrowski were the key contributors down low with seven, five, and five rebounds respectively.

Dombrowski, and freshman second string big man Daniel McElroy, also combined to hold one of Behrend's usual top scorers, Zane Hackett who averages 17 points a game, to 10 points.

On the other end of the court, guards Keoni Sablan and Rich Cross led the team in scoring with eight points apiece, followed by sophomore point guard Jacob Divens with seven.

Lamanna said he was pleased with Cross's third successful game in a row and that the guard's growth is encouraging.

"Rich played really well. I was very pleased with his production and overall shot selection," Lamanna said. "Just his overall presence in the game on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball have been very positive for us."

As the Barons move into their final four games of the season, Lamanna said they need to continue to work on taking care of the ball and strive for consistency in putting together all aspects of the game.

The team will next travel to face Penn St.-Altoona road on Wednesday, February 11 at 8pm.