Franciscan 87, Waynesburg 57

Franciscan Starters 
Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Zach Oliver, Malachi Rose-Burton, Thomas Kristian 

How It Happened 
    Last night was the start to round two of the PAC South Division. At roughly mid way through conference play the Barons were sitting in third place one game behind W&J. With the second victory over Waynesburg, the Barons moved up into a tie for second place with W&J. 
    Waynesburg sits last in the competitive South Division and the first meeting this season went wildly in the Barons favor. However, the start to last night's game didn't give Franciscan faithful warm fuzzy feeling. Waynesburg was hot out of the gate, and jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The media timeout shortly after didn't reset the Barons either. The Jackets slowly increased their lead to a game-high 10 at the 15 min mark with a score of 16-6. Their 3pt shooting kept them rolling, and the Barons, although finding high quality shots, had struggled to find the bottom of the net. 
    Patience and inevitability spelled doom for the Jackets. The starting five Yonkeu, Kristian, Butler, Oliver, and Rose-Burton is a highly focused defensive unit that, frustratingly for the opponent, are also a scary offensive attack. Oliver, and Richards off the bench, were getting shots at-will causing the defense to scramble in transition to stop those two. The so far quiet Butler patiently waited for the opportunities to present themselves. Multiple possessions in a row, the Jackets lost track of Butler trying to stop Oliver and Richards from gutting them. The rare space and freedom set Butler afire. A couple of three's, and too many trips to the free throw line to count, shot him to a quick 17 pts well before the first half was over. 
    The comfortable 20 point lead at half didn't slow the Barons. The starters extended the lead slightly. Usually shortly after the first media timeout, coaches sub in some players to give starters a breather to prep them for finishing out the end of the game. With a comfortable lead, the Barons subbed in a fresh-five including Richards, Covetta, Townsend, and Trotsko. Those four lit up the Jackets. Covetta couldn't miss from 3pt land and the Barons lead surged to over 30. They sealed the deal for the Jackets defeat and led the way for the futures of the Franciscan program to see the floor. Every single player registered court time. Nathan Rodriguez was the star of the final segment. He played six minutes scoring two points, tallied two assists, and grabbed a rebound. 
    With the end of the PAC regular season coming into view. We will begin to track standings and post-season position. The goal, other than winning every game, is to grab at least a 2 seed and a home quarterfinal game against a North Division team. If the season ended today the Barons would be a 3 seed losing the tiebreaker to W&J and traveling to Geneva for the first round of playoffs. The South can finish in a multitude of ways with a three way tie for second, and each team sitting two games behind Chatham. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Oliver was just shy of his usual double-double with 8pts & 8rebs, but continues to lead the PAC in rebounding
- Butler and Covetta led the efficiency ratings with 19pts in 22min and 15pts in 19 mins respectively
- the Barons more than doubled the Yellow Jackets in assists (18-8)

Up Next 
Franciscan remains at home to take on Hiram on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. It will be Kuzma Day in Steubenville, as the late, great Coach Hank Kuzma will be honored. The Barons are 6-3 all-time against the Terriers with two of those wins coming from teams led by Coach Kuzma. This will also be their first PAC matchup against the Terriers, and it will be the first time that they have played them since the 2008-09 season. In that meeting, the Barons won 88-80 behind 19 points from Josh Ducoulombier, as all of the starters scored in double figures. 

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