Grizzlies defeat rival Hanover

In his second game back from a month long absence, sophomore Will Conoley led the Franklin College Grizzly basketball team to victory to defeat Hanover College 74-70.

The Grizzlies (5-10, 3-3 HCAC) started strong for their second game in a row. They opened the game with a four-point lead and held on for the first 10 minutes of the half before the Panthers (6-8, 3-3 HCAC) tied the game.

Hanover took the lead at four separate occasions in the half, but was unable to push it past two points. Their last lead came at the 5:40 mark before Franklin took back the lead on a three-pointer by sophomore Clay Starrett. The Grizzlies held on for the rest of the half, and were up 31-25 at halftime.

Head coach Kerry Prather said his team took longer possessions, which gave them opportunities for better shots.

Franklin played soft in the first five minutes of the second half before hitting their offensive stride. The lead was pushed to seven on a three-pointer by freshman Gunner Erwin, which turned into a 10-point lead five minutes later.

The Grizzlies lead reached 12 with 38 seconds left before the Panthers whittled it down to four at the end of the game.

 Franklin held their opponent to 45 percent shooting while shooting 50 percent themselves. The Grizzlies were also 20-33 from the free throw line, breaking a two game streak where they shot less than 15 free throws each game.

“We talked about trying to be aggressive without turning the ball over and we hit the right balance,” Prather said.

The Grizzlies also made a change in the turnover department, giving up the ball only 12 times.

 Conoley led Franklin with 21 points and five rebounds followed by Erwin who had 18 points and six rebounds. Starrett chipped in 10 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Zach Merschbrock narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

“Will scored 21 points in only 23 minutes,” said Prather. “This was probably the toughest one on one matchup in the post we will see, but Will and Zach played well.”

The Panthers were led by Ryan Nowicki with 18 points, Mike Case with 16, and Cody Osman with 10.

Franklin will travel to Defiance on Saturday with the game tipping off at 4 p.m.