Franciscan 75, Waynesburg 87

Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Travis Lien, Malachi Rose-Burton, Aidan Hickey, Nicholas Allienello 

Waynesburg Starters 
Knotss, Popeck, Wilt, Felberg, Scheidt

How It Happened 
    The Waynesburg Yellow Jackets came to Steubenville as one of the top defensive teams in the PAC but the worst offensive team. After the defensive clinic that the Barons put on display Tuesday, everyone was anticipating a grindy brawl of a basketball game. The Yellow Jackets rained down three pointers going 10-17 for the game and defied the offensive odds to win by 12. The first half went as expected. The Barons forced three shot clock violations and held the Jackets to 37 points. Aidan Hickey and Josh Zimmerman did the brunt of the work guarding Jackets' Popeck, and Zimmerman was unstoppable going to the rim. The Barons shot the ball decently in the first half, 42% from the field and 33% from 3pt. However, nine first half turnovers significantly limited the offensive opportunities, and the Barons went into the half break down 37-32.
    The second half was lights out for the Jackets. The Barons continued to struggle to find open shots early and the Jackets hit everything they threw up. The Barons gave up 50 second half points. There were moments of bright spots and with 13 minutes remaining in the game the Barons cut the lead to three. If you blinked too long you missed a couple turnovers, two missed easy shots, and 100% conversion on the offensive end and the Barons were back down 15. That lead held for the remainder of the game, and the Barons fell to 10th in the conference.

Inside the Numbers 
-The Barons lead the Jackets in Points in the paint, second chance, Fast Break, and bench points
-Five Baron players were in double digit scoring
-Travis Lien led the Barons in scoring with 14
-Josh Zimmerman had 7 rebounds and added 3 steals to his season total

Up Next 
    Franciscan concludes their busy week of games with a tough road test on Saturday at Westminster. The Titans have put together another solid season, as they are among the top four teams in the league thus far. Last season these two teams split their pair of matchups with the home team coming out on top in each. In Franciscan's 95-88 win last season, Josh Zimmerman led the way with 18 points and eight boards with three other teammates in double-figures to take down the Titans.

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