Franciscan 93, Pitt.-Greensburg 82

Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Travis Lien, Colton Hage, Nicholas Allienello, Benjamin Klement

Pitt.-Greensburg Starters 
France, Marinchak, Williams, Hardy, Karpuzi

How It Happened 
    The Barons were forced away from home for the first 7 games of their season due to a flood and a new floor getting installed. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the homecoming win had some fond moments. 
    The first half was tumultuous. The Barons offense went on long stale periods, and scorers Travis Lien and Colton Hage were forced to make tough plays and shots to get points on the board. With 3:37 remaining in the the game a layup from Lien put the Barons up 11. Those stale possessions piled up as the half waned and that hard fought lead vanished to a deficit heading into halftime. 
    Second half the Barons came out as they normally do. Starters were back in and the press was turned up a notch. However, the Bobcats handled the pressure and extended their lead to 6 in the first seven minutes. The bench had a staggering 29 points, but Coach Wallace needed to find something to or someone to break the cycle. Enter freshmen Frank Bellissimo; Frank got his feet wet with a first half 3-pointer then took that confidence and ran going 4-5 from 3pt in the second half. Bellissimo's shooting gave the Barons the lead, then Travis Lien drove down the right baseline and hammered one home over the tiny Greensburg defender. The hoop bounced up and down in unison with the bench and crowd as if it was in approval. The life in the Bobcats deflated and they just waited for the clock to stirke 0 and their demise to be over with. 
    The game back at home on their own floor, and the Barons took another step forward. There are 3 more non-conference games left before the bulk of conference play to finish the year. The men are trending forward and will need to continue this trajectory to get a spot in the PAC playoffs and make a run for the title.

Inside the Numbers 
-Travis Lien's 24 points is his 4th game in a row with 20+
-Colton Hage scored a season-high 21 points
-The Barons shot 44.4% from 3pt
-The Barons turned 17 turnovers into 23 points and had 38 points in the paint
-Nicholas Allienello led the game with 12 rebounds
-Josh Zimmerman had a game-high 7 assists

Up Next
    Franciscan returns to the floor on Saturday December 17th at home against Washington & Jefferson. The Presidents have won their last four matchups against the Barons with Franciscan not defeating them since 2018 in a non-conference matchup. The Presidents won the PAC last season, and they see themselves at the top of standings once again, as they are one of four PAC teams with just one conference loss thus far.

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