STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan men's basketball team suffered a tough 85-72 loss to Chatham in the final non-conference game of the season, Saturday afternoon.
 
After eight lead changes through the first 15 minutes of the first half, the Cougars took the lead for good with 4:42 to play with a three-pointer from Will Sandherr. After Chatham pushed its lead to four, 34-30, junior Josh York (Russia, OH/Russia Local) cut it down to a one-possession game with a free throw with 3:52 to play. Another three from Sandherrr with 2:53 pushed the lead up to six and neither team was able to hit a basket in the final 2:53 of the first and the Cougars held a 37-31 lead at the break.
 
Senior Juwan Perkins (Detroit, MI/Oak Park) opened the second half with three-straight points for the Barons to cut the lead down to 37-34. Junior Matt Trent (Cleveland, OH/Trinity) got the Barons to within one, 39-38, after grabbing the defensive rebound and finishing the short jumper with 17:28 to play. The Cougars then used a 6-0 run to push their lead to seven, 45-38, but junior John Noce (Brewster, NY/John F. Kennedy Catholic) halted the run with a layup with 15:55 to play. A pair of good free throws from Joe Schriner (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) once again cut the deficit to three, 45-42, but the Cougars used a 22-7 run over the next eight minutes to take their largest lead of the game, 67-49. Perkins stopped the run with a three-pointer with 7:09 to play to cut the deficit back to 15, but Chatham maintained its double-digit lead until the 2:01 mark when sophomore Sean Hickey (North Olmstead, OH/Holy Name) made a layup after forcing a turnover and grabbing the steal before the Cougars could cross the half court line.
 
The Cougars hit eight free throws in the final two minutes as the Barons were forced to foul to get the ball back but Franciscan could not overcome the double-digit deficit as the Cougars held on to win, 85-72.
 
"I think we competed really physically today," remarked head coach Joe Wallace. "You can't question how hard we played and we attacked the whole game. Juwan gave us really good minutes, shooting the ball, attacking the rim, getting on the glass."
 
Perkins led the Barons with 20 points and pulled down six rebounds.
 
"Sean had to really work for his baskets tonight and Josh York played a really great game all around, even though his numbers don't show it. He provided a lot of energy," remarked Coach Wallace.
 
Hickey put up 17 points and five boards. York finished the day with 11 points and six rebounds. Noce posted eight points and a team-high eight rebounds while dishing out three assists.
 
"I didn't like our poise today, our mental toughness was lacking," commented Coach Wallace. "Our physical toughness was there but the mental part wasn't there and we kind of let the game slip out of our hands. I can't fault the guys physical toughness today."
 
The Barons hit the road for the next three games as they resume conference play. First on the road trip will be a Thursday night game on December 3 against Penn State Altoona at 8:00 pm.
 
"We are going to have to be physically and mentally tough," said Coach Wallace. "Going to Altoona has been a problem for us since I have been here and that's the next one. That's what we are focusing on. Every game we played this year has come down to how we played, it's not the opponent – it's just about us. That's how we are going to treat things the rest of the way. It's about us and how we can handle things."