Game #9
Franciscan (5-3 | 1-3 PAC) vs. Thiel (4-4 | 3-2 PAC) 
Saturday, Dec. 7th | 6:00 p.m.
Finnegan Fieldhouse | Steubenville, Ohio

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The Latest
- The Barons picked up their first PAC win of the season by a score of 69-67 at Bethany on Wednesday night. The Bison entered the game with the top offense in the PAC, and one of the best in all of NCAA Division III at 97.8 ppg. Franciscan held them far under their average to have them off their game and secure victory.

- Sawyer Butler led the Barons with 16 points, including four made three-point field goals. Travis Zimmerman and Aiden Townsend each added 15 points. The Barons out-rebound the Bison 41-40.

Scouting the Tomcats
- Thiel enters this one with a 4-4 overall record with three of those wins coming in conference play. Their lone non-conference win came against Penn State Shenango, who the Barons will face on December 21st.

- Thiel has had their offense come from a variety of players this season, as five players average between nine and 11 points a night. They have a strong veteran group that the Barons are familiar with from past seasons, but Rob Thomas is a freshman who has made a lot of noise as of late. He is coming off a 27-point performance in the win over Westminster on Wednesday, and he scored 18 in a win over Saint Vincent earlier this season.

- The Barons are 2-6 all-time against the Tomcats after they split their pair of meetings last season. The home team won each game last season with the Barons winning 61-59 in Sterubenville. Sawyer Butler converted a pair of free throws in the final seconds, and the Barons locked up on defense to give them the win in that game.

Around the League
- Chatham has asserted their dominance through five games thus far, and three teams are still in search of their first conference win.

- The top six teams will make the PAC Championship Tournament which will take place on February 25th - March 1st.
 
Country Roads
- Travis Zimmerman looked right at home on Wednesday night in his home state for the first time as a Baron. He scored 15 points, pulled down five rebounds, and had three blocks. 

- He shot 7-9 against his former team to help the Barons secure victory. Zimmerman leads the PAC with a 60.6% field goal percentage so far this season. 

Keystone Contributors
- To go along with Butler's 16 points on Wednesday, a pair of Pennsylvania natives were major contributors.

- Aiden Townsend had a career day with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block. Nathan Richards made a pair of three-point field goals to have six points and two rebounds in 15 minutes of play off the bench. 

Butler on Top
- Sawyer Butler leads all PAC players in scoring so far this season at 18.5 ppg.

- His 19 made three-point field goals are third-best in the PAC so far this season and his 39 made free throws is second most.

- Butler has scored or assisted on over 35% of Franciscan's offense so far this season. 
 
Mr. Zimmerman Tracker
- Josh Zimmerman enters this game with 1,234 points to have the seventh most all-time. Don Rogich '79 sits in sixth with 1,394 points. Sean Hickey '21 holds the Franciscan Division III record with 1,692 points, and Paul Brownlee '56 sits atop the all-time rankings with 2,433 points.

-Zimmerman holds a pair of program records. He is top in all-time assists with 284, and he is the program's all-time leader in steals with 209.

- He sits 13th all-time in rebounding with 622 boards. Fr. Tim Hirten '75 is one spot above him with 627 boards over his four years in Steubenville. Matt Trent '20 holds the Franciscan Division III record with 781 rebounds, and "Big" Jim Smith '58 sits atop the rankings and all levels of collegiate basketball with 2,334 rebounds.

- At Saint Vincent, Josh played in his 100th game of his career. Dating back to 1946, he is the 11th Baron to do so while playing in Steubenville. Jim Smith '58 holds the program record by playing in 113 games over his four-year career.

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