Franciscan 54, Geneva 71

Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Nicholas Allienello, Derrick Derrow, Joseph Ciola, Sawyer Butler

How It Happened 
    Franciscan made the short trip to Geneva on Wednesday night to take on Geneva, who held an undefeated record in PAC play. The Barons would control this game for the first ten minutes, but then the Golden Tornadoes would find their grove and take control en route to a victory.

    A Franciscan 7-0 run which included a three pointer from Joseph Ciola gave the Barons a 7-3 lead in the first three minutes. Josh Zimmerman would aggressively attack the paint on back-to-back runs down the court to add four points and give the Barons their largest lead at 11-5. The Barons would maintain the lead until a Geneva three-point basket would give them a 19-18 lead with six minutes to play in the first half. That would begin a 13-0 run that would flip the momentum and give the home team a commanding lead that they would not relinquish. 

    In the second half, the Golden Tornadoes would stretch their lead up to 20 points at 46-26. Franciscan would respond with a 12-0 run, including five points from Derrow. That would be as close as the Barons would get to the lead though as the Golden Tornadoes would answer and go on to win 71-54.

Inside the Numbers 
-Derrick Derrow led the Barons with 18 points. 
- Zimmerman pulled in a team-best eight rebounds.
- The Barons scored 30 points in the paint compared to just 18 by the Golden Tornadoes.
- Geneva made 12 three pointers while shooting 52.2% from deep.

Up Next 
Franciscan will return home to take on Chatham on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The Barons are 1-8 all-time against the Cougars, as they are looking to snap a three-game skid against them. In February of 2022, the Barons won 87-83. Sean Hickey had a massive day with 32 points in 32 minutes. Three other Barons scored in double figures, as the Barons picked up the big win on Senior Day. The Cougars won the PAC Championship last season, but are off to a slow start through their tough November slate in the 2023-24 season.

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