FRANKLIN, Indiana – Franklin College built an 11-point halftime lead and held the Wilmington College men's basketball team to two points in a 10-minute stretch in the second half to earn an 83-61 victory over the Quakers in non-conference action from the Spurlock Center on Thursday evening.
The Grizzlies (2-2), scored the first 12 points of the game to build an early lead. Collin Barker scored the Quakers first points of the game at the 17:18 mark as Lucas Doty found him for a three-pointer. Six points from Abdul Kanu fueled a WC run that tied the game 18-18 on an offensive putback from Obed Achirem with 12:39 to play in the half.
Franklin called timeout, and it worked as Carter Crowe connected on his third triple of the game on the very next possession. That would be as close to leading as Wilmington would get in the game. The Grizzlies led 47-36 at halftime and would build a lead as big as 31 points late the game. The Quakers would close the game on an 11-2 run.
The hosts finished the game 32-of-67 (47.8 percent) from the field including a 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Franklin won the rebounding battle 46-33 and held a 23-13 advantage in points off turnovers. Wilmington shot decently from the field, making 26-of-65 (40.0 attempts), but struggled from distance (2-of-17) and from the free throw line (7-of-18).
Crowe finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting while Logan Hudgins hauled in a dozen rebounds. Nathaniel Hoffman and Lynn King also scored in double figures. Wilmington was led by Jayden Lewis's 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting while Kanu added 11 points.
Wilmington (2-1) hosts Kenyon College in the home-opener for the Quakers on Saturday.