Franklin, Ind. - The Franklin College men's basketball team returns to the Spurlock Center for the first time in three contests when it battles Earlham College during Alumni Day on Saturday, January 30, at 2 p.m.
Former men's basketball players will participate in an Alumni Game starting at 11:30 a.m. They will join men's basketball alumnae on the court for halftime recognition.
The Franklin men's basketball program will also be hosting a "Coaches vs. Cancer" game on Saturday during the National Basketball Coaches Association's annual initiative. Franklin and Earlham coaching staffs will wear sneakers with their business suites to bring attention to cancer detection and prevention.
The event will give the athletic department and men's basketball program an opportunity to honor former player Nick Schoening, a 1988 Franklin College alumnus who lost a long battle with leukemia in 2013.
Admission to the game will be free. Instead, fans may elect to give monetary donations to the American Cancer Society, which will have a representative available to distribute information about the organization's services. Other donations to the organization will be collected throughout the game.
Franklin seeks the season sweep of Earlham after picking up an 82-74 victory in Richmond, Indiana on December 12. Senior Trae Washington (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) scored 26 points and junior Aaron Mann (Indianapolis, Ind./Howe) added 21 points in the victory.
On the season, Mann is tied for first in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in scoring at 21.6 points per game. The guard leads the team with seven rebounds per contest.
Meanwhile, Washington is tops in the league with 93 assists. He is averaging 16.3 points per contest on the season.
Junior John Beineke (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) rounds out the team's double-figure scoring attack at 10.4 points per outing. He ranks second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game.
Earlham features three double-figure scorers, led by Taylen Alexander at 13.7 points per game. Elijah Wilson-Thomas follows closely behind at 13 points per contest. Darrell Hutchison is averaging 10.5 points per outing. The team is coming off an 88-71 road loss to Transylvania University on Wednesday.
Live video and statistics of Saturday's 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).