Franciscan 85, Washington & Jefferson 103
Franciscan Starters
Sawyer Butler, Josh Zimmerman, Derrick Derrow, Nicholas Allienello, and Travis Zimmerman
How It Happened
The Barons went on the road to face the Washington & Jefferson College Presidents. Coming into last night's contest the Presidents were 7-3 and sat 3rd in the PAC just one game out of a tie for 1st. The Presidents press slowly wore the Barons down and a second half run lifted them over the Barons. After the loss, the Barons still sit in a four-way tie for 6th place at 4-6 in the PAC.
Three years ago the Presidents adopted the full court man press that coach Wallace brought to the PAC and continued to use it last night. The Barons familiarity with the press lead to limited turnovers both in Franciscan and W&J standards. The 14 Baron turnovers were slightly below their season average while W&J is used to forcing over 18 turnovers a game. Most of the success against the press came in the first half. Even though the Barons shot an okay 37% from the field in the first half and allowed the Presidents to shoot 48%, their success against the press kept them just shy of even going into the half.
In the second half, both teams offenses picked up. The Barons shot an incredible 51% from the field, but allowed the Presidents to shoot almost 70%. Turnovers in the back court which lead to easy transition opportunities were what led to the high shooting percentage. This couple with a small scoring drought early second half led to a one point game quickly turning into a 20 point game. The highlight of the day was Butler's very efficient 25 points off 9-18 shooting and Frank Bellissimo going 5-11 from behind the arc. The opponents held two-key Baron components out of the game; Josh Zimmerman points and Travis Zimmerman offensive rebounds. A calling card for the Barons are both the Zimmerman's abilities to slash through the defense and grab second chance points. Both were held to only two offensive rebounds each and Josh was corralled well at the three-point line. The Baron defense did a good job against the Presidents' top scorer Plotner, as well as, some of their other usual scorers (Acosta & Seidl), but a surprise performance from Carte was a big factor in the scoring differential.
At 4-6, the Barons are still having one of their best seasons ever and as they enter their second round through the PAC are in a prime position to both make the playoffs and potentially climb a couple spots higher than 6th. Their next opponent is Geneva who sits ahead of the Barons in 5th. A Baron win puts them ahead of Geneva in standings and depending on how the other three teams tied for 6th do, may put the Barons alone at 5th.
Inside the Numbers
-Butler led the team in scoring with 25
-Josh Zimmerman's 8 rebounds were a game-high
-Karl Yonkeu had a team-high 5 offensive rebounds
Up Next
Franciscan remains on the road at Geneva on Saturday for their first of two games against the Golden Tornadoes this season. The Barons are 15-19 all-time against them in a series that dates back to 1949. Geneva has won the last eight meetings, as Franciscan is looking to beat them for the first time since 2018. Geneva won the PAC last season, but they are off to a back and forth start this season with a 6-8 overall record and 4-5 mark in conference play.
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