Franciscan 81, Waynesburg 63

Franciscan Starters 
Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Zach Oliver, Nathan Richards, Thomas Kristian 

How It Happened 
    Franciscan began PAC play this year traveling to Waynesburg, Pa to face the Yellow Jackets. The Barons walked away with a 20 point win. It is only the second time since 1955 the Barons have won in Waynesburg. 
    From the tip, the Barons passed the visual test. Their press caused significant issues for the Yellow Jackets, and it seemed like a point of victory if they crossed half court or even got a shot off. On the other hand, the Barons offense looked like a well oiled machine and they had their pick of open looks to choose from. Yet, going into the first media timeout the score was 4-4. A defensive grind is not unusual for this matchup. Both coaches are well-known for their defensive minded styles, and the green vs orange matchup quite often turns black and blue. 
    The defensive grind continued until shortly after the under 12 minute media timeout. From that point, the Barons began building a comfortable lead. Their lead was as high as 16, but the Yellow Jackets clawed their way to within five before halftime.
    To start the second half the Barons built their lead to double digits and held that for most of the second half. In the final five minutes they sealed the deal by extending their lead and comfortably putting away the Yellow Jackets. 



Inside the Numbers 
- Butler's 25 points leaves him two shy of his 1000th career point
- Pollaro and Yonkeu each scored double digits
- the 18 pint victory is the largest PAC margin since 1/6/24 vs Allegheny

Up Next 
Franciscan will remain in PAC play, as they host Washington & Jefferson on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The Barons are 5-12 all-time against the Presidents. They are looking to break a four-game losing streak against them after falling to the them in the PAC Quarterfinal last season. Sawyer Butler and Aiden Townsend each scored 13 points, but the Presidents pulled away late to win 73-62 in that last meeting.  

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