Franciscan 64, Thiel 61

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

How It Happened 
    There Barons have now won three straight and four of their last six PAC games. This weekend they traveled to Greenville, Pa to face the Thiel College Tomcats. These two schools don't have a very long history. Outside of Franciscan joining the PAC, they have only met once in 2008. Before this season, the Barons had a rough history of 2-6 all-time. The late second half turnaround marked the regular season sweep of the Tomcats and the first time the Barons have ever won in Greenville. A significant accomplishment contrasting the growth of the two programs, specifically the exponential upward trajectory of the Barons.
    The Barons and the Tomcats are two of the most athletically talented teams in the PAC. An advantage both teams lean into. This time the Barons had the edge in that battle. The Tomcats shot a respectable 42% from the field while the Barons had a down night shooting. They were 39% from the field, which isn't good but not terrible. The rough stat line was the lack of production from behind the arc. The Barons were 0-12 from 3pt. Without good perimeter shooting, the defense can pack in and it becomes harder to score inside and find driving lanes. A testament to the physicality, the Barons overcame that by dominating on the boards. They racked up 16 offensive rebounds to overcome the shooting disparity. 
    Going into the break the game was close, but after halftime the Tomcats jumped out and built up a lead. The peak of that lead came just before the under-12 minute media timeout at eight points. The Barons slowly chipped away at that lead whittling it down until they gained the lead with 2:48 remaining. It took a couple of defensive stands with blocks from Butler and Aiden Townsend to hang on to that lead, but the Barons held on and made their free throws down the stretch to grab their first road win against the Tomcats.
    Another impressive performance for the Barons who have now jumped Geneva in the standings and sit two games behind 4th place Grove City who is on a three-game losing streak. That 4th place position would mean a home playoff game for the Barons.

Inside the Numbers 
-Zero 3pt makes is the first time this year
-Josh Zimmerman's 21 points is his fourth 20+ point performance this season
-Travis Zimmerman's 4 offensive rebounds bumps his average up slightly, but he falls to 21st in the nation in Oreb/game

Up Next 
Franciscan will remain on the road Wednesday night to take on Chatham. These two teams met on New Year's Eve with the Cougars coming out on top. That started a long winning streak that has propelled the Cougars to the #1 spot in the PAC standings. The Barons have lost their last six meetings to the Cougars, as they are looking to beat them for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Sean Hickey dropped 32 points in that win, and Josh Zimmerman added 16 points and 10 rebounds. 

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