Franciscan 91, Bethany 88

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

How It Happened 
    The Barons have had some pretty close games on the road this season. To cap the regular season off they had a close call at Bethany. 
    They went down early. The Bison gym was very full and energetic for their senior night. It took the Barons some time to overcome that energy and momentum. Before the first half was over they managed to overcome the early deficit and build a multiple possession lead going into half.
    That lead held steady for the entirety of the second half. Each time Bethany made a run the Barons answered. In the final minutes, with Bethany fouling to save possessions, the Barons free throws held the lead and kept their hopes of a #1 seed alive. 
    It took some incredible individual performances to stave off the Bison. The two most likely candidates were the ones that have come through for the Barons time and time again. Butler had a decent scoring night, for him, with 19, while adding 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. While the double-double king, Oliver, came through again. Oliver led the Barons with 24 points while tallying 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, and the first time in recent memory that two Barons have had a double-double in the same game. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Forwards Yonkeu and Trotsko each added double digit scoring performances (10, 14)
- Barons 25% 3pt shooting is well below their season average of 36.8%
- The Barons finish the regular season 3rd in the PAC in scoring, 1st in point margin, and 2nd in points allowed

Up Next 
Franciscan went into the game with the chance to hold the #1 seed in both the PAC South division and home-court advantage through the championship. However, this required both a win and St. Vincent defeating Chatham. The tiebreakers for a 3-way tie between Franciscan, W&J, and St.Vincent were favorable for Franciscan and would grant them the #1 seed. However, since Chatham defeated St. Vincent, the tiebreakers between Franciscan, W&J, and Chatham leaves the Barons as the #3 seed in the South. They will be on the road for the quarterfinals to play the #2 seed in the North Allegheny. 

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