FRANKLIN, Ind. – For just the third time in 2020, the Franklin men's basketball team stepped onto the Spurlock Center floor for conference play, taking on the Hanover Panthers in the first of two straight home contests on Wednesday (Feb. 5) night.

The Grizzlies (13-7, 9-4 HCAC) fell behind the Panthers (15-5, 9-4 HCAC) early, as Hanover recorded the first nine points of the game to take a lead they would hold the entire night. Franklin fought to stay within striking distance throughout the first half, but the Panthers surged out to a sizeable lead by halftime on their way to a 74-53 win to force a three-way tie atop the conference standings.

Hanover knocked down five of their first six shots while Franklin missed their first five attempts from the floow, allowing the visitors to take a 12-2 lead four minutes in. The Grizzlies used a quick 7-2 run to trim the lead down 14-9 with 12 minutes to go in the first half, but the Panthers answered with a 10-0 run of their own to make it a 15-point game with nine minutes before intermission.

Franklin clawed back to within 10 with four minutes to go before the half, but Hanover closed out the opening four minutes with a 10-2 advantage on the scoreboard to take a 48-29 lead into the intermission. Franklin shot 44.4% (12-for-27) from the floor in the opening half, but that number was bested by Hanover's 56.8% (21-for-37) first half shooting performance.

The teams played to a draw in the second half, with both defenses assuring that buckets would be hard to come by. But the large first half deficit proved to be too big of a hole for the Grizzlies to climb out of.

Payton Mills led the Grizzlies with 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting with 12 of those points coming in the first half alone. He was joined in double figures by Borden Kennedy and Jordan Anderson, with the two seniors recording 12 points each.

Franklin shot 44.2% (23-for-52) from the field, going 2-for-12 from three and 5-for-6 from the line. Matt Krause hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds, giving him a team-high eight game with double-digit rebounds.

The Grizzlies will look to get back in the win column on Saturday (Feb. 8) afternoon when they welcome the Manchester Spartans to the Spurlock Center for Alumni Day. The opening tip is set for 2:00 p.m.