Franciscan 48, Chatham 58

Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Nicholas Allienello, Derrick Derrow 

How It Happened 
    Almost two months ago the Chatham Cougars came over to Steubenville and tallied 86 points with five guys in double figures and made a 20pt victory feel like 40. On Saturday, the Barons came out swinging and dazed an overly confident Chatham team. 
    At this point in the season everyone knows who the Boys from the Ville are. They are at their best in defensive struggles. Saturday in Pittsburgh, the Barons bruised the Cougar egos frustrating the offense and holding the shooters to abysmal percentages. However, the Barons shooting woe's and high turnovers negated their incredible defensive effort. Josh Zimmerman had a career performance scoring 21 points off 10 for 18 shooting and an emphatic block mid-second half to keep the Barons momentum and in striking distance. Outside of Zimmerman's shooting the rest of the team was 12 of 42. 
    The Cougars sit firmly in 3rd place in the PAC. The Barons are not mathematically eliminated yet, but crunch time has come and they are in the thick of it. It is a slim margin that separates the 10th place Barons from the last playoff spot at 6th place. The Barons could get four of their last five and get in with a lot of losing from the right teams, or preferably win out in conference play and have a decent shot at a playoff berth.

Inside the Numbers 
-Zimmerman's 21 is his second-best scoring night of the year
-Zimmerman's double-double is his 6th on the year
-Butler led the Barons in assists and steals with 3 and 4 respectively. He now sits at the top of the conference in steals and is just a handful away from setting the single season record
-Zimmerman passed Matt Trent in the all-time scoring record and now sits at 13th
-0 for 6 from the line is the both the lowest FT attempts in a game all year and the only time this year they've been empty from the line

Up Next 
Franciscan will return home to take on Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday night in Finnegan Fieldhouse. The men are slated to tip at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game that is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Barons defeated the Presidents earlier this season by a score of 66-61. Josh Zimmerman led the way for the Barons with 22 points and nine rebounds in the big, road victory. 

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