BRADFORD, Pa. – The Franciscan men's basketball team snapped a three-game skid and took one step closer to making the conference tournament with a 80-67 win over Pitt.-Bradford, Monday evening.
The game was rescheduled from January 19 and kicks off a three-game road trip in six days for the Barons to end the regular season.
"We are treating this week as if it is the conference tournament," remarked head coach
Joe Wallace. "Our season is on the line and we need urgency and focus in everything we do. We got off to a nice start, but then started sleep walking."
The Barons opened the game with a 12-2 run in the first five minutes of action, thanks in a large part to seven points from sophomore
Sean Hickey (North Olmstead, OH/Holy Name). The Panthers hung around, however, and eventually cut the lead down to two, 19-17, with 5:29 to play. The Panthers tied the game at 21-21 but a pair of free throws from freshman
Justin Mack (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) gave the lead back to the Barons, 23-21, with 3:18 to go in the first.
A pair of layups from junior
Josh York (Russia, OH/Russia Local) and Hickey pushed the lead back to six, 27-21, but the Panthers used a 9-0 run to take their first and only lead of the game, 28-27, with 22 seconds before the break. Hickey hit his second three-pointer of the first half with just two seconds left to give Franciscan a 30-28 lead at the break.
York opened the second half with a jumper right under the basket and the Barons eventually pushed their lead to 11 with 16:32 to play thanks another three from Hickey. The Panthers once again chipped away at Franciscan's double-digit lead found themselves within seven, 44-37, with 15:15 to play. Hickey halted the run with another three, his third of the game, to give Franciscan a 47-37 lead with 14:51 to play.
Franciscan maintained its double-digit lead for the rest of the game as the Barons seemed to have an answer for all of the Panther shots. Hickey's sixth three-pointer of the game with 5:54 to play gave Franciscan it's largest lead of the contest, 72-56. A layup from Justin Kusiappouh cut the lead down to 12, but a pair of layups from junior
Matt Trent (Cleveland, OH/Trinity) and York kept the Barons solidly in the lead, 76-62, with 2:29 left in regulation.
Trent grabbed his own rebound and tipped it back in with 2:05 to play to give Franciscan back its 16-point lead 78-62, but the Panthers closed out the game on a 5-2 run. York's layup with 39 seconds left sealed the 80-64 win for Franciscan.
Hickey led all players with 26 points and was 6-11 from beyond the arc.
"Sean was simply elite tonight. Plain and simple," remarked Coach Wallace. "He did a nice job getting into rhythm. Noce and Schriner did excellent jobs making plays off the dribble and locating Sean."
York tied his career-best in points with 16 while he lead the Barons with seven rebounds. Junior
John Noce (Brewster, NY/John F. Kennedy Catholic) chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and a career-best eight assists. Trent finished the day with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Junior
Joe Schriner (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) rounded out the box score with six points, three rebounds, and a career-best seven assists.
"Noce and Schriner combined for 15 Assists and five turnovers. I thought they both played good floor games," complimented Coach Wallace.
The Barons shot 56.4% as a team from the floor (31-for-55) for the game include an impressive 66.67% (20-for-30) in the second half. Franciscan was 52.9% (9-for-17) from beyond the arc for the game getting six threes from Hickey, two from Mack, and one from Trent.
Franciscan continues its road trip as the Barons travel to Greensburg, PA on Wednesday for an 8:00 pm Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference contest.
"We are going to have the same approach on Wednesday. We won't hold anything back."
