Franciscan 73, Allegheny 72

Franciscan Starters
Sawyer Butler, Frank Bellissimo, Travis Zimmerman, Thomas Kristian, Nicholas Allienello

How It Happened 
    It was all Sawyer Butler and Aiden Townsend today. The Beaver area high school tandem scored 45 of the 73 points with Townsend shooting 9-14 from the field including the buzzer beating winning jumper from inside the paint. 
    Meadeville is a very long bus ride up from Steubenville and playing there has been a curse for Franciscan since the Gators joined the PAC. Today that rough patch was broken in a commanding way. 
    In the first half, the Gators had no answer for Butler's scoring or any Baron going for an offensive rebound. Butler and Travis Zimmerman led the team with four O-rebs while Townsend and Karl Yonkeu were right behind them with three each. This dynamic lead to the Barons building up an eleven point lead late in the first half.
    In the second half, Allegheny made eight three's and had a little more success from the FT line than the Barons to tie the game up. But despite that shooting, the Barons looked firmly in control of the game. The Gators looked uncomfortable and sped up out of their offensive tempo all game. Butler handed the reigns over to Townsend. He used his diverse skill-set and length to score from every level. The Gators are without a traditional rim protector or a highly athletic lockdown defender, so there was no one they could put on Aiden that didn't give him an advantage somewhere on the court. 

Inside the Numbers 
-Townsends' 24 is a career-high for him and was one rebound off his first double-double
-Butler's 21 brings his season average to 19.1 pts/game
-The Barons grabbed 17 O-rebs
-Fouls plagued the Barons; allowing Gators' Barker to go 10-10 from the FT line

Up Next 
Franciscan will resume play at Division I Saint Francis University in an exhibition on Thursday, December 19th. The Red Flash are 29-9 all-time against the Barons in a series that dates back to the 1947-48 season. Franciscan is looking to snap a 16-game losing streak to St. Francis and pull of their first win against them since the 1966-67 season. They are in search of their first win in Loretto since the 1963-64 season. The game will count as a regular season contest for the Red Flash.

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan Athletics on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage.