Franciscan 82, Washington & Jefferson 86 OT

Franciscan Starters 
Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Volodymyr Trotsko, Nathan Richards, Thomas Kristian

How It Happened 
    Franciscan hosted their second annual Military & Law Enforcement Appreciation Day welcoming all local first responders, active military, and veterans. All proceeds of the game were donated to charity supporting military veterans and law enforcement officers. 
    The Barons lost to the Presidents in overtime by four points. The boys got off to a hot start and buried the Presidents in an 11 point deficit early. The Barons held that lead for most of the first half before giving up an 8-0 to end the half and have their lead dwindle to four. 
    The second half was back and forth for twenty minutes with the Barons holding the lead and control of the game for all but the final couple of minutes. Richards sank two free throws with over a minute remaining and the Barons defense held to force the overtime. 
    The Presidents hit a couple of early shots in overtime and the Barons were unable to generate a significant run to overcome the deficit and take the lead. 
    The Presidents are a team that loves scoring and firing up three pointers. The Barons defense was a key to their performance against the Presidents who were picked to win the division in the preseason. The Barons held back their perimeter attack to the extent that the Presidents first made three pointer wasn't until the overtime. The big difference for the Barons offensive attack was the hot shooting start that slowly dwindled as the game progressed. They shot 47% in the first half, 35% in the second, and 16% in overtime. 
    The highlight of the day came in the third possession of the game. With only needing two points, Sawyer Butler reached the 1000-point mark off a floater in the lane. He reaches that milestone just 56 games into his career becoming the fastest Franciscan Baron to reach the milestone. What's incredible to watch is not just his ability to score, but he tenacity on defense. He holds multiple steal records for the Barons and is one of the greatest rebounding guards in the conference. When most scorers take defensive possessions off to save energy for offense, Butler focuses on his defensive efforts and finds the extra gear to fight the fatigue and still score. Watch below to see a recap of his performance last night.


Inside the Numbers 
- Four Barons scored in double digits 
- Butler had a team-high 8 rebounds
- Crowd favorite Ciola had a hyper efficient game scoring 15 points in 25 minutes

Up Next 
Franciscan will have a week off before returning to action against Division II Wheeling in an exhibition. They will play them at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, December 15th at Wesbanco Arena. This will be the fourth time the Barons and Cardinal have played each other in recent years, as the Barons are in search of their first win against them since 1981.

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