Franciscan 90, Penn State New Kensington 85
Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Nicholas Allienello, Derrick Derrow, Karl Yonkeu, Sawyer Butler
How It Happened
Turns out the way you score more points if you can't shoot over 40% from the field is to get 27 offensive rebounds and take almost 20 more shots than the other team. The dominance on the glass tonight and two players scoring double-doubles led to a 90-85 win over the Penn State New Kensington Lions.
The Barons came out of the gate tonight with high tempo offensive transition and stout defense. What felt like should have been a 10 point lead early was only a four point lead after five minutes do to some long tough shots made by the Lions. For the next 35 minutes the game turned on its head. The stout Franciscan defense was gone. The Lions were scoring at the rim, and the Barons had to rely on big shots to stay in it. Before the half, the Barons blew a 14 point lead and started the second half with a three point lead. Frank "Hawkeye" Bellisimo stepped in and scored 18 points off the bench. His threat as a three point shooter opened up the offense, and the Barons were able to get back to scoring at the rim.
The Lions amped up the pressure in the waning minutes, but the Barons took care of the ball, made their free throws, and staved off any comeback attempt.
Inside the Numbers
-Karl Yonkeu recorded his first career double-double
-Josh Zimmerman had a double-double
-Frank Bellisimo scored a career-high 18 points
Up Next
Franciscan will remain at home to host Penn State Shenango for a rare early afternoon weekday game this Thursday at 1:00 p.m. This will be the first official matchup of these two teams in school history. The Lions hold a record below .500 so far this season. They share some common opponents with the Barons, as they have lost to Thiel and Westminster already this season. They are at Allegheny on Wednesday at noon before coming to Steubenville on Thursday. After this game the Barons will take some time off for Christmas.
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