Franciscan 66, Westminster 63

Franciscan Starters
Sawyer Butler, Josh Zimmerman, Yann Yonkeu, Derrick Derrow, Nicholas Allienello 

How It Happened 
    The Barons traveled to Westminster, Pa to face the last place Titans. Butler scored on their first three possessions giving them a 7-0 lead. The rest of the half was a back and forth. Neither team made any big runs, so they Barons went into the half up five. 
    In the second half, the Titans came out firing and erased the Franciscan lead even taking the lead for a brief minute. Mid-way through the second half, the Barons answered with a run of their own taking back the lead and going up by as much as nine. The Titans tried clawing their way back in. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the game and facing a five point deficit, the Titans sank a miracle 3pt to bring them within striking distance. On the Barons ensuing possession, Josh Zimmerman made at least one of his free throws preventing any chance of a buzzer-beater winner from the Titans. The Barons only had to hang on for 10 more seconds. The Titans managed two 3 point attempts, but the Baron length and athleticism coupled with they didn't have to guard the rim meant very low percentage chances for their opponent. 
    With the road win the Barons have clinched a PAC playoff berth, and are only one win away from qualifying for the ECAC tournament for the first time in six years. They have two games remaining next week both at home. 
    Sawyer Butler now has 438 points this season. He is 51 points away from surpassing Sean Hickey's best scoring year and 82 points away from claiming the Franciscan season-scoring record in the DIII era. The Barons are guaranteed 3 more games. If they get a PAC or ECAC tournament win a fourth or fifth game would put Butler on pace to claim that record.

Inside the Numbers 
-Butler's 4 steals is a season-high 
-Travis Zimmerman had a game-high 9 rebounds
-Josh Zimmerman led the team with 5 assists

Up Next 
Franciscan will return home with a pair of home games to conclude the 2024-25 regular season. On Wednesday night, they will take on Waynesburg at 7:30 p.m. The Barons fell to the Yellow Jacket in overtime in January by a score of 76-71. Josh Zimmerman led the Barons with 21 points in the loss, and Sawyer Butler added 18 points. Waynesburg's Antone Baker eclipsed 1,000 points while scoring 18 to lead the Yellow Jackets to victory.

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