Franciscan 68, Westminster 56

Franciscan Starters
Josh Zimmerman, Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Joseph Ciola, Alan Wood 
How It Happened 
    For the first time in the short history between the Westminster Titans and the Barons, the Boys from the Ville left New Wilmington the victors. 
    From the very beginning the game was a physical brawl. Every few minutes someone from either side had to sub out and get checked for bleeding or get their wind back. Officials set the standard that this game was going to be all about the players. This style of play favors the Boys. Zimmerman is more than accustomed to driving down the lane, getting crushed, and not walking to the free throw line. The Titans however, had no idea how to handle this style of play. 
    The season has been full of ups and downs, different guys being hot, and lots of inconsistency, but one thing has stayed constant Joe Ciola will get the Barons started on the right path. The Titans took a quick 5-0 lead, but the Boys lead by Ciola fired back and took the lead. There were six more lead changes until the waning minutes. Sawyer Butler hit a pullup jumper to put the Barons up 1. With that last lead change the Barons never looked back. They went into the half up by seven and held a double digit lead for all of four minutes in the second half.
    The Boys from the Ville were led by freshmen Sawyer Butler. He scored 26 points off 50% shooting from the field. Sawyer had quite possibly the most well-rounded performance in Baron history. His stat line is a long list of "wow that's good" reactions; 26 points, 50 FG%, 3-5 3pt, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. His 3 steals maintains his season average and he falls to 5th in the nation in steals/game. He also extends his record setting year of the most steals in a season in Baron history. 

Inside the Numbers 
-Butler's 26 pt, 10 reb performance is his third double-double of the year
-Zimmerman's 15 pt, 14 rebs is his 9th double-double of the year and he continues to lead the PAC in rebounding
-the Barons shot 40% from the field and 42% from 3pt
-The Barons out rebounded the Titans 44-39

Up Next 
Franciscan will return to action at Allegheny on Saturday. The Barons took down the Gators by a score of 94-69 in their last meeting in January. Five Barons scored in double figures, as Karl Yonkeu led the way with 17 points. 48 of Franciscan's points came in the paint, as they shot nearly 50% from the floor in the victory. Allegheny has been scuffling as of late, as they are in search of their first conference win since December. 

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