Franciscan 93, Grove City 78

Franciscan Starters 
Justin Mack, Tristan McDannell, Sean Hickey, Nicholas Allienello, Josh Zimmerman 

Grove City Starters 
Rose, White, Thrasher, Brown, Weir

How It Happened 
    The Barons scored 45 points of off 29 turnovers to lead them to the second program victory against the Grove City Wolverines. Even though the Barons only had one program victory against the Wolverines, they came into tonight with the confidence of a team that has never lost. From the very first whistle Sean Hickey picked off a pass by Rose, then pitched it ahead to Josh Zimmerman who beat the first defender and went right at the Wolverines secondary help. This pressure, hard-nosed mentality was there from the opening possession to the very last possession. The Barons forced 5 more turnovers in the ensuing minutes. These takeaways coupled with three's from; Sean Hickey, Nicholas Allienello, Robert Case, and Justin Mack brought the Barons out to a 19-8 lead early. The Wolverines regrouped and used the free-throw line to try and slow the pace down and keep up with the Barons. The Wolverines found a way to get the game to within seven, and Rose took a defense rebound full-court attempting to dunk over a defender and spark his team. The big freshmen Yann Yonkeu had another idea. He sent that attempt sailing toward half-court. The Barons bench went wild, and you could feel the energy from the Wolverines deflate. The seven point deficit was the closest the Wolverines ever came for the remainder of the game. 
    If you were a fan of Grove City and hoped for a run in the second half after an adjustment, it didn't come. The Barons took the same energy and the same game plan, and resumed business harassing the Wolverine ball handlers. The Wolverines used inside pressure to get to the free throw line, and score with the clocked stop. The Barons may be young, but the leadership of the few upper classmen shined through. Late in the second half, when the energy started fade and victory was in sight, Tristan McDannell tipped a weak pass then dove to save the ball from falling out-of-bounds. His pass tipped to Justin Mack who took it in for a quick layup. This play culminated the Baron mentality, and re-energized his team to keep fighting to the end. 

Inside the Numbers 
-The Barons shot 48.6% from the three point line.
-Benjamin Klement had 6 assists.
-Five Barons scored in the double digits.
-The Barons tied the program record of 17 made three-pointers
-Nicholas Allienello and Yann Yonkeu had game-leading 6 rebounds.

Comments from Coach Joe Wallace
"[Tonight] was a big-time program win in all facets. Every player down the roster, and all the coaches were in-sync. The focus and preparation showed. In my opinion Grove City is the standard of this conference. They have won more conference games then anyone else in the last four years. To take care of business on them is a big deal. Justin Mack was an absolute warrior and showed leadership like I've never seen before. He brought toughness when we needed it, calming presence when adversity was shown, and then backed it up with his play. With a couple starters in foul trouble in the second half, Colton Hage and Tristan McDannell really picked up the slack when we needed it most. 

Up Next 
The Barons resume play on Saturday against an old AMCC foe in Hilbert College. This will be the first time these two team meet in a non-conference matchup. The Hawks have beat the Barons in their last three matchups, but each have been within six points. Franciscan's last win against Hilbert came in 2019 in dominant fashion, as they won 68-44 at Hilbert. Sean Hickey led the Barons with 17 points, and Joe Schriner added 14 points off the bench. 

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