Defiance, Ohio - Franklin College senior Terry Sargent (Indianapolis, Ind./Howe) scored a career-high 31 points and could have had more in a 73-71 road loss to Defiance College on Saturday. He missed a potential game-winning three-point field just before the final buzzer.

The Grizzlies will be the No. 6 seed when they play at No. 3-seeded Hanover College on Tuesday, February 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) championship tournament. A victory would give the team a rematch against Defiance in the semifinals on Friday, February 28 at 6 p.m. in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Franklin (10-15 overall, 7-11 HCAC) trailed 63-51 with 5:53 left before mounting a late rally. Sargent and senior Troy Porter (Frankfort, Ind./Frankfort) made back-to-back three-point field goals to cut the deficit to 69-66 with 54 seconds left.

After a Defiance basket, Porter answered with a layup with 17 seconds remaining to bring the visitors within three points at 71-68.

Defiance's Bernard Edwards split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 72-68 with 13 seconds left. Then, Sargent drained his seventh three-point field of the game with seven seconds remaining, trimming the deficit to 72-71. After being fouled, Defiance's Noah Reed would make only one free throw in the final seconds. Sargent grabbed the rebound from the missed free throw and his potential game-tying three-point field goal attempt rattled out around the rim of the basket, but didn't fall through.

Sargent finished with a game-high 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the floor. He was most effective from three-point range, making 7-of-9 shots. Sargent also grabbed eight rebounds in the contest.

Porter had 25 points and made all nine of his free throw attempts. He also had eight rebounds in the loss.

Defiance (20-5, 15-3 HCAC) was led by Edwards with 18 points. Ryan Hicks added 17 points and Mason Roth had 11 points.

Six of Franklin's 11 conference losses have come by margins of three points or less.

In the first half, the Grizzlies raced out to a 16-7 lead in the first eight minutes. Defiance answered with nine consecutive points to tie the game. Franklin took a 24-20 advantage following a jumper by Porter with 4:53 left, only to see Defiance come back to take a 33-30 lead at the break.

Live statistics and video of Tuesday's first-round conference tournament game at Hanover is available here. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter (@FCAthletics) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinCollegeAthletics).