LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Franklin College men's basketball team tipped off Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play on Wednesday (Dec. 1) night, taking on the Transylvania Pioneers in a matchup of last year's conference tournament championship.

The Grizzlies (3-1, 1-0 HCAC) and Pioneers (3-1, 0-1 HCAC) needed extra time to decide a winner in an absolute thriller. Franklin got their heroics in the end from freshman Mitch O'Mara, who sank the game-winning shot in the final second to send Franklin to a 92-91 win.

How it Happened
An early Franklin lead didn't last long, as the Pioneers would hold the lead for the majority of the opening half. Transylvania would lead by as many as seven points late in the half, but a late surge from the Grizzlies closed the gap to 34-32 when the teams headed into the break.

The Pioneers stretched their lead to a game-high nine with 13:35 to go in the ball game, but things turned back in Franklin's favor with an 11-2 run that gave the Griz a 64-63 lead with five minutes to go. Down by five with one minute to play, Franklin forced overtime with back-to-back buckets from O'Mara and Lynn King and contesting a would-be game-winning layup in the final seconds of regulation.

With 2:31 to play in the extra session, Franklin once again found themselves down by five but a bucket from O'Mara and a Ty Wright three brought the Grizzlies even at 87 with 1:45 to play. Two O'Mara free throws with 1:10 to go put FC in front, but the Pioneers converted a three-point play with five seconds left to re-take the lead.

With the length of the floor to go and not much time to do it, O'Mara sent a deep inbound pass to Wright, who gave it right back to the freshman guard. O'Mara made his way into the lane and drained an elbow jumper with 0.4 seconds left on the clock for the deciding bucket.

Inside the Box Score
-The Grizzlies knocked down 49.3% (36-for-73) of their shot attempts, burying a season-high 14 three-pointers.
-Wright led the Grizzlies with 23 points, giving him three straight games with at least 20 points.
-O'Mara set a career-high with 19 points and was joined in double figures by TJ Deere (17 pts) and Ryan Wiggins (16 pts). O'Mara's six assists were a game-high.
-Franklin finished the night with a 40-32 edge in the rebounding battle, with Matt Krause's 13 boards leading all players.

Up Next
Franklin returns to their home floor on Saturday (Dec. 4) afternoon to take on the Defiance Yellow Jackets in another big league matchup. Tip-off is set for approximately 4:00 p.m.