Franciscan 78, Grove City 77

Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Nicholas Allienello, Derrick Derrow, Joseph Ciola, Yann Yonkeu 

How It Happened 
    After a tough road stint, the Barons came home for their second home game so far this season. The Grove City Wolverine match-up is always a gritty, grindy, and sometimes dirty endeavor. Players come off the floor battered, bruised, and bloodied. It's a last man standing contest that, tonight, the Barons won. Down two with only seconds remaining, Allienello watched a defender fall passed him in the corner and hit the three to put the Barons up by one. 
    The start of the game was refreshing. For over a week, the Barons were plagued by slow starts. Tonight they came out of the gates firing. Their success came in offensive transition and clogging the Wolverine flex offense. Mid first half Grove City stifled the transition game and found their rhythm on offense. The Barons were down five just before the final media timeout. Coach Wallace reached into his bag of tricks and dialed up the 1-3-1 zone. Possession after possession the Wolverines struggled to even get a shot off. In the final four minutes, the Barons were on a 14-3 run to go into the half up six. 
    In the second half the Barons went back to the man defense and each team traded blows. Once again, going into the final 4 minute segment the Barons were down six. Enter freshmen Sawyer Butler. If you hadn't heard of him or were oblivious to the crowd chanting "he's a freshmen!", you know who he is now. For the majority of the second half, Butler was the only source of offense and he kept the team in the game. In the final minutes, he racked up steals in the press and fast break layups and put the Barons in a position to have a chance to win. Allienello had been feeling his shot all game. His aformentioned game-winner was the final shot to eliminate the Wolverines.

Inside the Numbers 
-Sawyer Butler led all scorers with 30 a career-high
-Allienello's 20 pts were a career-high 
-The Barons were 50% from 3pt and for the second game in a row over 40% from the field
-Josh Zimmerman led the game in assists with 5
-Butler's 8 steals sets the Franciscan Single-Game record

Up Next 
Franciscan will not have much time to rest, as they will take on Saint Francis University in an exhibition on Wednesday night in Loretto. This will be their 39th meeting against the Red Flash in a rivalry that dates back to 1948. The Barons are in search of their first win since 1967 over the Red Flash. Saint Francis is 1-4 on the year, as they are coming off of a 77-63 win over another Division III foe, Pitt-Greensburg, on Monday. 

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