Franciscan 95, Saint Vincent 93
Franciscan Starters
Sean Hickey, Josh Zimmerman, Tristan McDannell, Joe Vernau & Noah Griffin
Saint Vincent Starters
Shemar Bennett, Osyon Jones, Nelson Etuk, Corey Harden & Kaleb Fields
How It Happened
Barons win an overtime thriller on Kuzma Court to snap their losing streak and notch their first win against St. Vincent in the Division III era. Five Barons scored in double figures. Justin Mack led the Barons with 24 points including six made threes, both career highs for the junior guard.
Saint Vincent came out hot to start this one as they would jump out to an eight point lead in less then four minutes of play. Nicholas Allienello and Justin Mack would add a three point field goal apiece to tighten this one back up a little. The Bearcats would pull the lead back up as Shemar Bennet would add a couple tough layups to take the lead up to nine halfway through the first. Josh Zimmerman added a trey and a Tristan McDannell tough bucket in the paint would help cut it to six points, as the Bearcats would take that advantage into the break 38-32.
The Barons would respond in the second half, as a 10-4 run over the first three minutes would tie this one up at 42-42. Josh Zimmerman would pour on his second three of the night and a jumper in the paint to give the Barons a five point lead. Justin Mack would start to heat up as he added a layup and a three pointer to stretch the lead up to eight points. The Bearcats would not go down easy, as they would go on a run of their own to tie this one back up at 56-56 with ten minutes to play. This one would get tied back up a 60-60 two minutes later before Sean Hickey and Justin Mack each connected on a triple to give the Barons a six point edge. The Bearcats once again responded as an 11-0 run would give Saint Vincent a five point edge with a little over three minutes to play. Mack added another trey, and freshman Nicholas Allienello connected on one of his one to keep this one a one possession game. The Barons would go down three with under a minute to go, but another Justin Mack three would tie it up with 30 seconds to go. The tie would hold as we were heading to overtime.
Saint Vincent would be the first to score in overtime, but big man Joe Vernau would answer with the equalizer on the the next Franciscan possession. Hickey and Allienello would connect from deep as well to give the Barons a three-point edge halfway through the five minute overtime period. The Barons would maintain control of this one as they took a four-point lead into the final minute. Anthony Dillard would connect on a pair of free throws, and Osyon Jones made a clutch bucket in the paint to tie it all back up with 20 ticks left on the clock. Sean Hickey would find Josh Zimmerman streaking toward the block, and with time expiring, Zimmerman connected on the contested layup to secure the Franciscan win.
Inside the Numbers
-Justin Mack scored a career high 24 points, with 17 coming in the second half or overtime.
-Sean Hickey matched his season high with 23 points on the night with five made three pointers.
-Josh Zimmerman netted a career high 18 points. He also filled in the stat sheet with five rebounds, five steals and five assists.
-Nicholas Allienello scored a career high 11 points including three clutch treys.
-Franciscan made 17 three point field goals, as they shot 50.0% from deep. 17 makes set a program record for made three pointers in a game.
-Joe Vernau pulled in a team high seven rebounds and blocked two shots.
-Shemar Bennet tied Justin Mack with a game high 24 points.
-The Barons were clutch at the free throw line, as they shot a season best 83.3% from the line (10-12)
-Another program record was set, as the 93 points by Saint Vincent goes down as the most Franciscan has allowed in a win.
Comments From Coach Joe Wallace
"I'm proud of this team's toughness that they showed tonight. I firmly believe their belief in each other was the difference. Josh Zimmerman is starting to understand his potential and is starting to hit his stride. Justin Mack made some really clutch plays and bring this group some toughness. Joe Vernau is battling through injuries and has been a warrior for us. He brings a lot of physical toughness everyday for us. Sean Hickey has been and will continue to be our rock. He made winning plays all night, and his pass to Zimmerman at the end was savvy.
Who's Next?
Franciscan hits the road with a matchup at Grove City on Saturday. The Barons are 1-8 all-time against the Wolverines. The lone win came in last season's matchup in Steubenville by the score of 76-68. Grove City is the defending champions of the PAC, as they had a PAC record of 13-3 and won the postseason tournament.
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