Franciscan 74, Chatham 76

Franciscan Starters 
Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Zach Oliver, Aiden Townsend, Nathan Richards

How It Happened 
    Teams will always say that every game matters and there are no "circled" games. However, deep down there are two games every season that deep down have a special interest. Those games are at Grove City and at Chatham. Every program goes through ups and downs over the years and even with this season being such a high "up", the Barons have yet to leave those two gyms victorious. Last night the Barons came as close as they've ever been to walking away with that elusive road win in Pittsburgh. Aside from the four point win at home in 2022, every Chatham contest has been a double-digit loss.
    Just before the final media timeout break in the second half, last night felt like it was trending that way again. The Barons were down 10 with six minutes remaining. Butler had 18, mostly from free throws, but was struggling from the field. He came alive in crunch time scoring 10 of his 28 in those final minutes including a third of his made field goals. 
    Zach Oliver continues to be a foundation for the Barons success. With all of the attention on Butler, Oliver has been quietly getting double-double after double-double all season. Last night was no exception. His performance gave consistency on both ends of the floor and he had the chance to make the game winning play. The Barons final possession they were down three. Oliver was fouled and sent to the line. He made is first free throw which was crucial for the Barons to have a chance. With only seconds left, the best chance of victory fell to Oliver's ability to MISS the second free throw. With no chance of having enough time to steal and inbound pass and put a quality shot up, the Barons opted for the intentional miss. The difficulty of this shot is misleading. Missing should be effortless, but Oliver needed to miss it bad enough that the ball falls right in his hands for a clean offensive rebound and quick put back. However, per rules, the ball must hit the rim, so Oliver needed to bank the ball off the backboard hard, hit the front of the rim, then catch it on the run. He nailed all but one of those steps. His shot was too high and too hard off the backboard causing it to miss the rim entirely. Unfortunately ending in a dead ball and default Chatham rebound. 
    The Barons still sit in a great spot for postseason play. They are third in the south with tie breakers over all the teams below them. Their win against Westminster, the #1 team in the north, should pay dividends as the season moves forward. Assuming the rest of the south loses to Westminster, the Barons win over the Titans should help them stay in playoff position and potentially move up the ranks. 

           

Inside the Numbers 
- Oliver's 18 pt, 12 reb performance is his 5th double-double in 14 games played
- Butler's 28 pts is his 9th 25+ pt performance
- Yonkeu's 12 rebs is a season-high

Up Next 
Franciscan remains on the road at Thiel on Saturday. The Barons are 4-6 all-time against Thiel, including wins in their last three matchups against the Tomcats. Last season at Thiel, the Barons beat them 64-61. Josh Zimmerman led the way with 21 points, including a four free throws in the closing seconds to seal the game. 

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