INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Franklin men's basketball team made the trip to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday (Nov. 1) night for their lone exhibition contest of the year and a meeting with the Butler Bulldogs.
 
Franklin kept it tight with the Big East's Bulldogs for the majority of the opening half, but a 10-0 Butler run to close out the first half put some distance between the sides with the hosts eventually taking a 91-54 win.
 
Jack Hendricks and Ryan Bostic led the way with 11 points each with Lynn King adding 10 points and four boards for Griz. Franklin connected on 40% (22-for-55) of their field goal attempts and went 7-for-29 from deep on the night.
 
Back-to-back layups from Hendricks and Dylan Beverly got the Grizzlies on the board early and a long triple from Jaume Arnal-Diaz at the 12:56 mark of the first half had the Griz within one possession at 18-15. Franklin sat within four at 26-22 after a King layup with 10 minutes to play, but the rest of the half went in Butler's favor as the lead grew to 50-32 at the break.
 
The Grizzlies worked 19 players into the rotation throughout the night, with nine players making the first appearances of their Franklin careers.
 
 "I was really proud that everyone tried to make a play not for themselves but for Franklin tonight," Head coach Chris Hamilton said after the game. If we keep putting efforts like that together, we're going to be pleased with where we are this year. It's great to be in Hinkle as a basketball fan but it was great that our guys not only got to experience tonight but they made the most of it."
 
Franklin now turns their attention to preparation for the 2023-24 opener, which is set for Friday, Nov. 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the Spurlock Center against the Berea Mountaineers.