FRANKLIN, Ind. – Playing in front of their home fans for the final time this season, the Franklin College men's basketball team claimed a thrilling 71-69 win over Mount St. Joseph on Tuesday (Feb. 15) night.

Playing in the Spurlock Center for the final time, senior Matt Krause netted a game-high 21 points and the Grizzlies (11-13, 7-9 HCAC) clamped down on the Lions (10-13, 6-10 HCAC) in the final seconds to finish off a season sweep of their league foe.

How it Happened
The two offenses were the story in the opening half, with both teams shooting north of 55% from the field. The Mount held their largest lead of the game at 32-25 with six minutes to go before the break, but Franklin would rally to cut into the deficit and head into the locker room down 41-40. The opening half served up three ties and 12 lead changes overall.

The first half proved to be a sign of things to come, as the second half saw another 11 lead changes and six ties, with the largest lead of the final half a slim four points. Trailing by a point with just over a minute to play, freshman Cody Samples stepped up and buried a three-pointer to put Franklin up by two. The final minute of regulation featured a wild series of stops by the Franklin defense, with the Grizzlies forcing three Mount misses at the rim before the final horn sounded.

Inside the Box Score
-Franklin shot 51.9% (25-for-52) from the field, burying eight three-pointers on the night.
-Krause was an efficient 8-for-10 from the floor in nearly 38 minutes of action. He was joined in double figures by Trey Flatt (12 pts), Samples (11 pts) and Lynn King (11 pts).
-After the Lions shot 61.5% from the floor in the first half, Franklin limited the Mount to just 30.3% from the floor over the final 20 minutes.
-Rebounds were 34-33 in FC's favor, with King and Logan Hudgins tying for the team lead with six boards.

Up Next
The Grizzlies close out the regular season on Friday (Feb. 18) night, when they travel to Rose-Hulman for a meeting with the Engineers. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.