FRANKLIN, Ind. – Powered by a dominant second half and five starters that scored in double figures, the Franklin men's basketball team got back to their winning way on Saturday (Feb. 8) with an 84-61 handling of Manchester inside the Spurlock Center.

Borden Kennedy led the Grizzlies (14-7, 10-4 HCAC) with 17 points, scoring 14 in the first half alone. But the story of the game was the hosts' performance at both ends of the floor over the final 20 minutes, with Franklin out-gunning the Spartans (8-13, 6-8 HCAC) 47-26 to run away with their 10th league win and secure a winning season.

The Grizzlies leaned on Kennedy for scoring early in the game and the senior guard delivered with 12 points in the first five minutes of play, helping spot Franklin a 14-5 lead. Manchester would find their shooting stroke midway through the period and after eight straight points from Matthew Westman, the two teams were tied at 24 with 8:37 to go before the break.

The rest of the first half produced two tied and a pair of lead changes before a Kennedy layup with 30 seconds to play spotted the Grizzlies a 37-35 lead at the intermission. Kennedy, Payton Mills and Jordan Anderson combined to score 33 of the Grizzlies' first half points.

Franklin wasted no time stretching their lead to double figures for the first time, starting the second half with a 10-2 run to make it 47-37. Manchester stayed within striking distance, but a five-minute stretch midway through the half proved to be the game's deciding stretch.

The Grizzlies turned a 55-47 lead with 13:47 to play into a 71-52 lead with 8:17 to go. Franklin held Manchester to 2-for-7 shooting during that five-minute stretch and forced three Spartan turnovers while the offense went 4-for-8 from the field and knocked down all seven free throw attempts. It was smooth sailing the rest of the way, as Franklin polished off the win by holding the Spartans to 35.5% (11-for-31) from the floor over the final 20 minutes.

Matt Krause finished right behind Kennedy on the score sheet, pouring in 16 points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Sam Gutierrez (14 pts), Mills (12 pts) and Kale Morris (12 pts). Franklin went 14-for-26 from the floor in the second half and finished the day shooting 46.7% (28-for-60) from the field.

The Grizzlies hit the road for the final time in the regular season on Wednesday (Feb. 12), when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for a showdown with the Rose-Hulman Engineers. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.