Men's Basketball Mitch Morelli

Men's Basketball Looks to Extend Winning Streak at Thiel Saturday

Game #20
Franciscan (12-7 | 7-7 PAC) vs. Thiel (6-12 | 5-9 PAC) 
Saturday, Feb. 1st | 3:00 p.m.
Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium | Greenville, Pa.

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The Latest
- Franciscan took down their local rival, Bethany, on Wednesday night at home to improve to 7-7 in conference play and retain their position in 6th with six regular season games to play.

- The Barons led by 18 points in the first half, but the Bison battled back to make it a close one down the stretch. Sawyer Butler led all scorers with 24 points with four made three pointers, including one in the final minute to seal this game for the Barons.

- With a win, the Barons will tie the 2017-18 team with 13 wins, the most by a Franciscan team in the NCAA Division III era.

Scouting the Tomcats
- Thiel is looking to snap a three-game losing skid, as they have lost to Geneva, Saint Vincent, and Westminster over the last nine days. 

- Back in December, the Barons beat the Tomcats by a score of 58-54. Thiel led by two points at the half, but Sawyer Butler led the Barons to victory with 22 points while shooting 8-8 from the free throw line.

- Four different Tomcats are averaging double-digit points a game in their balanced offensive attack. Marlon Ellerbee scored 19 in their last game against Westminster and averages 10.9 ppg.

Look Around the League
PAC standingd

Sawyer's Stellar Sophomore Season 
- Sawyer Butler has now scored 20+ points 11 different times this season, including five of his last six games.

- His 19.2 ppg is second-best in the conference and leads the Barons. He has 693 points, as he looks to be the second fastest Baron in the NCAA Division III era to reach 700 points with seven or more points at Thiel. Thomas Kleinschnitz '11 reached 700 points in the 41st game of his impressive two-year career, and this will be Butler's 42nd game of his career.

Mr. Zimmerman Tracker
- Josh Zimmerman enters this game with 1,358 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 319, and he is the program's all-time leader in steals with 244. His 3.5 steals per game this season is the best in the PAC.

- He has played in 110 games so far over his six seasons in Steubenville which is one back of his former teammate Sean Hickey '21 who sits in second. Jim Smith played in the most with 113 over four years for the two-time All-American.

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Players Mentioned

Sawyer  Butler

#1 Sawyer Butler

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Josh Zimmerman

#12 Josh Zimmerman

G
6' 2"
Redshirt Fifth Year

Players Mentioned

Sawyer  Butler

#1 Sawyer Butler

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Josh Zimmerman

#12 Josh Zimmerman

6' 2"
Redshirt Fifth Year
G