Franciscan 88, Penn St. New Kensington 67

Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Frank Bellissimo, Travis Zimmerman 

How It Happened 
    The Barons have faced the Penn State New Kensington Lions every year for the last four years. Normally, when the Lions visit the valley the Barons eke out a win involving late game shots to squeak out a single digit victory. This year, the length and athleticism, and Butler's double-double, were too much to handle and the Barons walked away with a decisive 21 point victory. 
    The decisiveness came late for the Barons. The contest was mostly trading buckets for the first few segments. The Barons edged a double digit lead which was reduced to six before heading into the half. The majority of the points were coming from transition, but the same was true for the Lions. Each side had some early season rust that caused some sloppy possessions. The difference in the night was as the game progressed the Barons cleaned up their ball movement and became sharper, while the Lions diverged into a sloppier and sloppier team. 
    In recent years, "the Baron way" of winning usually meant a gritty low-scoring and low field-goal percentage win. Tonight the Barons enjoyed being on the high-ground looking down at their opponents field goal percentage. Led by Travis Zimmerman who was an incredible 6 for 7 from the field, the Barons shot 42.9% for the game and a pleasant 46.88% in the second half to help close out their win. The Lions on the other hand, shot 38.9% for the night with an abysmal 37% second half. 
    Sawyer Butler led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds and most of his 27 were difficult and un-pretty points. He was repeatedly hammered coming through the lane, leading to six trips to the free throw line. The half court offense improved as the game progressed. 
    Josh Zimmerman has taken a huge step forward from last year. Usually big jumps in development come between your first and second years. You don't usually expect a guy in his 5th year of play, but Josh has. His game used to be all defense, offensive transition, and driving into the lane. Tonight he showcased his newly found perimeter shot. He played off-ball most of the night and stretched the defense out going 3 for 3 from beyond the arc. The slasher turned spot shooter will continue to give opposing teams matchup nightmares and help lift the offense to higher levels of efficiency. 

Inside the Numbers 
-Butlers 25pt, 10reb game is the fourth of his career
-Freshmen Nathan Richards and Volodymyr Trotsko saw their first minutes, and Volvo scored his first collegiate point
-Four of the five starters scored double digits
-Josh Zimmerman was one rebound off his own double-double

Up Next 
Franciscan returns remains at home, as they take on Penn State Beaver Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at STEUBENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. The Barons are 2-2 all-time against the Lions, including a win last season 64-62. Josh Zimmerman led the way with 21 points and the game-winning bucket with three seconds remaining. The Lions are 1-2 thus far this season, and they take on Bethany on Wednesday night before coming to Steubenville. 

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