Franciscan 74, Saint Vincent 84

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

How It Happened 
    After a struggle at home versus Bethany, the Barons had to jump on a bus and travel across Pittsburgh to Latrobe, Pa. and face the undefeated and #1 in the PAC Saint Vincent Bearcats. 
    The Barons jumped out to a quick 12-7 lead. Their defense was troubling the Bearcat shooters, and they could not figure out how to guard Ciola. He hit a pull-up jumper and a three pointer to lead the early jump, but using his shooting threat to pump fake-drive-and create for others was the spear of the Baron offensive attack.
    The athleticism of the opponents eventually took over. After the under 16 media timeout, there wasn't a timeout, foul, out-of-bounds, or any whistle for over eight minutes. This led to back-to-back media timeouts at the seven minute mark. A well-deserved rest, but the damage had been done. The group stuck on the floor for over eight minutes could not keep up on defense and looked flat on offense. This led to a 21-6 Bearcat run. After the double media break, the Barons rallied and kept pace with the Bearcat offense. The game stayed a stalemate until the finishing buzzer. Every time the Barons got a stop and a score to try and cut the lead, the opposing shooters hit a big shot. The troubling eight minute stretch decided the game, but the Barons were neck and neck with the best team in the PAC. This team is physically capable of beating anyone. If their efforts and level of execution remains constant for the remainder of the year, this team can turn the conference upside down.

Inside the Numbers 
-Ciola had a season high 9 points.
-four Barons were in double digit scoring
-Ciola led the Barons in assists with 5
-Josh Zimmerman had a team high 18 points and 11 rebounds his fourth double double of the year

Up Next 
Franciscan will get back into action on Wednesday night at Grove City. The Barons were able to take down the Wolverines by a score of 78-77 back in November. Nicholas Allienello had 20 points while shooting 5-5 from three point land, including the game winner. Sawyer Butler had a career-night with 30 points while coming off the bench. The Wolverines have been playing well as of late, and they have climbed their way back into the playoffs. A win for Franciscan would give them the tiebreaker over them in the tightly contest PAC. 

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