Franciscan 77, Chatham 56

Franciscan Starters 
Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, Anthony Covetta, Malachi Rose-Burton, Aiden Townsend

How It Happened 
    The South has been all over the place this season. St. Vincent was behind the ball sitting in fourth, Chatham was the clear favored, but the Barons kept hanging around between 2nd and 3rd. In the last couple of weeks the division has been flipped on its head. St. Vincent has stormed into 1st place after beating W&J, and the Barons ran away with the game last night against Chatham to move into a three-way tie for 2nd and just a game outside of 1st. 
    The Barons made the first run of the game and took an early lead. Chatham answered back and we were locked in a back and forth for most of the first half. The Cougars made a small run to end the half to go up three before the break. After an abysmal first half for shooting, the Barons were done with the back and forth. They came out dialed in and doubled their shooting percentage from the field from the first half including 67% from 3pt. They kept slowly tacking on points while the game to a grinding halt on the defensive end. The Barons held the Cougars to 25% shooting and only 23 points on the half. They were much longer and more physical, and Chatham could only chuck deep threes to hope to stay in it. The lead slowly extended to 30 before the Cougars waved the white flag and sent in the reserves. 
    With the big win over Chatham, St. Vincent beating W&J, and the Barons having St. Vincent left on the schedule, they are primed for an opportunity to grab the #1 seed in the South and guaranteed home court advantage throughout the postseason. The big elephant to watch will be W&J. Needless to say, the Barons need to win out, but with an 0-2 record against the Presidents an unforeseen loss for them would go a long way for the Barons. I thought last night's game was going to be the most important game of the season as a battle for the South #2 seed, but now next Wednesday's senior night is becoming a showdown for the South #1 seed. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Five Barons scored in double digits
- Zach Oliver came off the bench and grabbed another double-double
- Yonkeu's 4 blocks are a season-high for him

Up Next 
Franciscan will head to Allegheny on Saturday to take on the Gators. The Barons are 2-4 all-time against the Gators after splitting a pair of matchups last season. This will be their one and only regular season meeting, but they could meet again in the PAC Championship Tournament. 

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan Athletics on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage.