Franciscan 65, Chatham 85

Franciscan Starters
Sawyer Butler, Josh Zimmerman, Travis Zimmerman, Malachi Rose-Burton, Nicholas Allienello

How It Happened 
    The Baron win streak was broke last night on the road in Pittsburgh, Pa. Franciscan faced the top-ranked Chatham Cougars hoping their recent successes could keep them on a roll against a team that has only lost one PAC game and is ranked 30th in the nation. A slow start in the first half from below average shooting coupled with unheard of shooting from the Cougars in the second half led to a twenty point defeat for the Barons. 
    The Cougars strength is in their perimeter play and 3pt shooting. The Barons chose aggressive perimeter coverage to smother open shooting opportunities and it worked. The Barons held the Cougars to 40% from the field which is 5% lower than their season average, and stifled the perimeter shooting only allowing Chatham to go 3-13 from the 3pt line in the first half. Even though the Barons did a great job on the defensive end, the Cougars are also one of the top defenses in the PAC and held the Barons to 25 points in the first half. Even though the Barons were down seven going into the half, the defensive game favors the Barons. The Barons offense is known for having explosive runs in games. So, a defensive grind coupled with one or two of those explosive runs could get them over the hump and pull off the upset. 
    The second half did not go as planned, and was a flip from the first half. Both teams found space and comfortability on the offensive end. The Barons put up one of their best offensive halves this season scoring 40 points and shooting 40% from the field. However, the Cougars capitalized more on the offensive half. They shot a staggering 73% from the field and scored 53 points in the half. Their offense outpacing our led to a significant margin that even a few explosive runs couldn't overcome. 
    The road loss ends the win streak, but thankfully changes nothing in the standings and little to the playoff picture. One of our student writers will be putting out a complete and in-depth playoff picture in the next week. So, if you are interested in all the different combinations of playoff matchups, do the Barons clinch, what do we need to get a home playoff game, or any other playoff related questions, keep a lookout for his article mid-next week.

Inside the Numbers 
-Butler led the Barons with 14 points
-The Barons lost the points in the paint differential 54-30
-Only 4 team assists is a season-low

Up Next 
Franciscan will return home to take on Allegheny at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. It will be Alumni Day in Steubenville. The Barons beat the Gators 73-72 in Meadville in December. Aidan Townsend scored a team-high 24 points, including the game-winner with a few seconds remaining. Allegheny was led by Luke Barker with 23 points in the loss. Barker still leads the PAC in scoring at 21.0 ppg.

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