Men's Basketball | 12/18/2025 12:00:00 PM

Game #8 - Youth Team Day
Franciscan (5-2 | 1-1 PAC) vs. Penn State Shenango (6-6 | 2-3 PSUAC)
Friday, Dec. 19th | 6:00 p.m.
Finnegan Fieldhouse | Steubenville, OH 

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The Latest
- The Barons nearly took down Division II Wheeling University in their exhibition matchup on Monday
- Zach Oliver led the Barons with 25 points and eight rebounds, shooting 4-5 from three-point range and 8-13 from the field
- Oliver's impressive performance came in his first game since the exhibition against Saint Francis on November 29th
- The Barons held a 72-66 lead late in the game, led by a flurry of threes from Oliver, but ultimately fell 82-74 to the Cardinals
- The Barons will return home to Steubenville to face Penn State Shenango, their fourth Penn State opponent this season
- They will host Youth Team Day at Finnegan Fieldhouse for local sports teams

Look Around the League

Scouting the Lions
- The Lions come into this matchup 6-6, with a 2-3 record in the PSUAC
- They have also played four exhibition games against Division I teams, so they have been battle-tested with 16 opponents so far this season
- They lost to the Barons' PAC rival Westminster 101-71 earlier this season
- They are led by junior guard Izzy Santiago, who averages 23.7 points per game on nearly 52% shooting from the field and averages 5.3 rebounds per game
- Junior guard Kevon Washington also averages 14.5 points per game and 4.8 rebounds, with a team-leading 35 made threes on the season

All-Time Matchup
- Franciscan is 2-0 all-time against Penn State Shenango, having defeated the Lions in each of the previous two seasons
- Last season, the Barons dominated in an 83-44 win led by Frank Bellissimo's 25 points and seven three-pointers
- The first-ever matchup between these teams in the 2023-24 season was an instant classic that will go down as one of the greatest games in Barons history
- The Barons came away with the 106-103 win in a triple-overtime shootout
- In a game that saw both teams put up gaudy numbers, Bellissimo led with 28 points and six three-pointers
- Josh Zimmerman put up a triple-double of 20 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds 
- Sawyer Butler added 17 points and 10 rebounds
- Three Shenango players added double-doubles of their own

Barons vs. Penn State
- Penn State Shenango will be the fourth Penn State satellite campus to face the Barons this season
- In the first three matchups the Barons went 2-1
- They defeated Penn State New Kensington 105-59 and Penn State Behrend 80-65 before losing a heartbreaking 64-63 contest to Penn State Altoona
- The Barons are no strangers to facing Penn State teams
- In their time in the AMCC, they regularly faced Penn State Altoona and Penn State Behrend
- Since 2021-22, they have faced between two and four Penn State teams every season
- The Barons are 22-49 all-time against the Penn State schools they have faced

Big Time Butler
- He has scored 20+ points in 24 games so far in his collegiate career. He has scored 30+ points five times, including each of the first two games of the 2025-26 season.
- Sawyer Butler sits 17th with 1,022 points on the all-time scoring ranks that go back to 1947. Above him are Mark Williams '77 with 1,030 and Matt Trent '20 with 1,060.
- Butler broke the program record for most free throws made by a Baron. He sits at 292, passing Sean Hickey '22, who held the record at 267. 
- He is 10th in NCAA Division III in free throws made this season
- With 126 assists, he is now eighth in the all-time rankings. Joe Schriner sits in 7th with 171 over his four-year career.
- His 140 steals are the third most by a Baron all-time. Sean Hickey is second with 158, and Josh Zimmerman holds the record with 259. 
- His 25.0 points per game would be the highest ever single-season average by a Baron, and he is currently tied for 6th across all of Division III in scoring.
- He is in the top 15 among all three levels of NCAA in scoring

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