STEUBENVILLE – Four different Barons scored in double figures as a balanced offense and tenacious defense led the Franciscan men's basketball team to a 75-66 win over visiting Westminster (Pa.), Saturday afternoon.
Playing on their home court for the first time this season, the Barons had an exciting offensive performance for their fans. Sophomore Sean Hickey(North Olmsted, OH/Holy Name) led all players with 20 points behind a 7-14 shooting day and a pair of threes while junior Joe Schriner (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) put up 16 points and four rebounds for the Barons. Sophomore Christian Comenge (Covington, LA/Home School) came off of the bench and hit three-straight three-pointers in the second half to finish the day with 12 points, all from the three-point range. Senior Juwan Perkins(Detroit, MI/Oak Park) rounded out the box score with 11 points for the Barons.
After going down 5-0 quickly to start the game, Franciscan used a 9-2 run over five minutes of action to take a 9-7 lead with 14:10 to play, thanks to four points from Schriner and three from Hickey. The Titans briefly halted the Barons' run with a three from Marco Delorenzo, but Hickey answered with a three on the Barons' end of the court and freshman Justin Mack (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) hit a three of his own to give Franciscan a 15-12 lead with 12:10 left in the first. Perkins pushed the Baron lead to 18-12 with a three of his own before the Titans used a 13-7 run over nine minutes of action to tie the game at 25-25 with 3:47 to play. Perkins gave the lead back to the Barons, 28-25, with his second three of the game after Trent pulled down the defensive board to get Franciscan back on offense.
The Titans used a 4-0 run over about a minute of action to take their last lead, 29-28, before Franciscan closed out the first half with a three from Hickey to go to the locker rooms with a 31-29 lead.
Just as he did to open the first half, Blake Payne drove to the basket on Westminster's first possession for a contested layup, this time tying the game at 31-31 just 14 seconds into the game. Franciscan had the quick answer as Trent hit a jumper in the paint 13 seconds later to give the lead back to Franciscan, 33-31.
The lead changed hands two more times until Franciscan took the lead for good, 42-40 thanks to a layup from Hickey with 14:44 to play in the second half. Franciscan pushed its lead to 16, its largest of the game, thanks to a three from junior John Noce (Brewster, NY/John F. Kennedy Catholic) with 2:45 left in the second. Franciscan maintained its double-digit lead until a three from Ricky Roth cut the Titan deficit down to nine, 75-66 to play with 22 seconds left on the clock. With possession, the Barons were able to run out the final seconds off of the clock and improve to 3-2 on the year with the 75-66 win.
The Barons shot 27-60 (45.0%) from the floor and were an incredible 12-for-28 from beyond the arc. Despite being out-rebounded 36-35 as a team, Trent led the Barons and all players with 12 boards.
The Barons continue their four-game homestand as they host Geneva Monday night in a 7:00 pm non-conference contest at Kuzma Court.