FRANKLIN – The Franklin men's basketball team returned to action after a week off, taking on the Dominican University Stars inside of the Spurlock Center.
 
Three Grizzlies (2-3) finished the evening with three players in double figures and the game came down to the wire. But a late three-point play from the Stars (4-1) ended up being the difference, with Dominican taking the game 71-68.
 
How it Happened
A slow start from the home side allowed the Stars to open up a 15-6 lead eight minutes into the contest and Dominican would lead the game by as many as 12 in the opening half. Franklin closed out the opening period with a 10-0 run, tying the game up at 36 when the teams broke for halftime and set up a battle for the second half.
 
Franklin grabbed their first lead of the nigh five minutes into the second half on a free throw from Nathaniel Hoffman and they led by as many as five with 9:49 to play thanks to a triple from Carter Crowe that made it 54-49. But the Grizzlies couldn't pull away from the Stars and the offense went cold at the worst time, as the team went without a bucket the final 2:29 of play.
 
Franklin had a look at the game-tying basket in the final second but a Cody Samples heave just missed finding the twine.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Franklin shot 45.5% (30-for-66) from the field but struggled from deep, where they went 4-for-22.
-Crowe and Hoffman led the Grizzlies with 16 points each, with Hoffman setting a new career-high.
-Trey Flatt added 13 points for the Grizzlies on the night.
-Franklin finished with a 32-30 edge on the glass. Hoffman and Lynn King tied for the team lead with six boards each.
-Crowe had a team-high five assists as Franklin assisted on half of their made field goals.
-The Grizzlies finished with a 48-26 edge on inside scoring and had a 27-13 advantage on points from the bench.
 
Up Next
The Grizzlies host Centre College on Tuesday (Nov. 29) night in their final tune-up before the first round of conference play. Tip-off from the Spurlock Center is set for 7:00 p.m.