Franciscan 87, Westminster 86

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

How It Happened 
    The Barons went with the same starting lineup that they've been using the last couple of games. This lineup has consistently come out of the gates swinging and giving the Barons early leads. After 40 minutes of back and forth small runs with eleven lead changes, the Barons pulled out two last minute possessions to retake the lead twice and defeat the Titans by one.
    The aforementioned hot start lineup didn't disappoint in their first home game with students back from Christmas break. They got out to a 7-1 lead in the first three minutes. The streaky-ness of the game was due to the Titans having no real inside threat on offense or defense. Their guards relied on midrange difficult shots to keep pace with the Barons. That play style leads to scoring streaks and dry spells. 
   The Barons locked down on the perimeter threats and started to build a slow lead. The Titans managed to claw back into the game by finding points from the free throw line. Tonight was a very physical game coupled with an officiating crew with jumpy whistles. In the second half, there was just shy of 30 fouls called. This made much of the second half a free throw shooting contest. Recently the charity strike has plagued the Barons. Tonight, though not a great performance, was a solid one from the boys and their 70% shooting staved off the Titans who were shooting a blistering 88%.
    This was an emotionally charged nail biter. It all came down to the final minute. The Titans were up one and the Barons had the ball. In a critical possession Karl Yonkeu turned the ball over after failing to corral a pass. The ball fell out of bounds after bouncing between a few different bodies and it was Titans' ball. The Barons got into a press with Karl at the top of it. The Titan point guard Hergenrother made a move to dribble passed Karl, but a lightning quick hand poked the ball as he tried running by and he was alone with the ball for an easy layup putting the Barons up 1 with only 27 seconds left. On the pursuing Titans' possession Josh Zimmerman fouled the same Hergenrother that cost the Titan lead and he went to the free throw line to shoot two. He sank them both and put the Barons back to down one. There were only 7 seconds remaining in regulation, and Titans put a 3/4 court man press to slow any Baron advancement. Butler received the inbound pass near halfcourt and was quickly doubled. The in-bounder, Josh Zimmerman, raced down the middle of the floor and Butler flipped the ball back to him before a trap was set. Josh beat two more defenders to get to the rim and finish a contested right-hander and game-winner for the Barons. 

Inside the Numbers 
-Josh Zimmerman and Sawyer Butler scored 20+ points
-the Barons shot above average from the field (50%) and 3pt (39%)
-Josh Zimmerman's 23 points and 11 rebs is his first double-double of the year
-10 Baron players played 10 minutes or more 
-15 O-rebs keeps the Barons on pace as the second best O-rebounding team in the PAC (14.6/gm)
-Travis Zimmerman is 5th in the conference in total rebounds after his 7 rebound effort tonight
-Butler slides into second in the PAC in scoring after his game-high 24 

Up Next 
Franciscan returns to action at Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday night. This will be the second and final time that these two teams will meet in the 2024-25 regular season. The Presidents were able to beat the Barons 68-54 back in November in Steubenville. The Barons shot just 33.8% from the floor, including 11.1 % from beyond the arc in that game, but the Barons look to show their improvement and earn a win at their place.

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