Second-Half Rally Falls Short for Franklin at Bluffton

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Bluffton, Ohio - The Franklin College men's basketball team scored 57 points in the second half during an 83-79 road loss to Bluffton University on Saturday in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action.

After trailing 39-22 at halftime, the Grizzlies went on a 15-2 run during the second half to cut the margin to seven points, 72-65, with 4:16 left. Later, a layup by junior Trey Boles (Carrollton, Ky./Carroll County) got Franklin within three points, 78-75, with 33 seconds remaining.

Bluffton's Trey Elchert converted two free throws to push the lead to 80-75. Freshman Blake Oakley (Kokomo, Ind./Northwestern) made a layup to cut the margin once again to three points, 80-77, with 21 seconds left. Bluffton made three of its four free throw attempts in the final 20 seconds to secure the victory.

Senior Trae Washington (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) led Franklin with 26 points. The guard also recorded five rebounds and five assists.

Junior Brett McCory (Vallonia, Ind./Brownstown Central) came off the bench to score 13 points. Senior Matt Niehoff (Rushville, Ind./Rushville) added 11 points. Oakley and Boles each tallied nine points, while junior John Beineke (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) scored eight points to round out the offensive attack.

Franklin shot 55.6 percent in the second half and made 16 of 19 free throw attempts in the contest.

Franklin returns to action on Wednesday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. when it travels to Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana. Live video and statistics of the game will be available. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter (@FCAthletics). Like the Grizzlies on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinCollegeAthletics), and on Instagram (@fcgrizzlies).