FRANKLIN – The Franklin men's basketball team tipped off the 2023-24 season on their home floor on Friday (Nov. 10) night, hosting the Berea Mountaineers inside the Spurlock Center.
 
Three Grizzlies (0-1) finished the night in double figures, led by a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double from junior Lynn King. But the Grizzlies couldn't maintain a double-digit first half lead and the Mountaineers (1-0) rallied to take a 79-70 win in the opener.
 
How it Happened
The opening 15 minutes was all Franklin, with the home side racing out to a 34-18 lead with 4:30 to go in the opening half. But the Mountaineers would force their way back into the game before the halftime break, turning up the pressure on defense to spark a 16-3 run to close the half and cut the Griz lead to 37-34 after 20 minutes.
 
The second half featured 11 lead changes and a pair of ties and with 6:29 to go in the game, a Ryan Bostic runner in the lane put the home side ahead 64-63. But the final six-plus minutes saw the Grizzlies struggle shooting the ball and Berea put things away with a 16-6 run to close out the night.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Franklin shot 44.3% (27-for-61) from the field and went 8-for-31 from three-point range.
-Bostic finished the night with 12 points and Jack Hendricks added 11 on the night for Franklin.
-Newcomers Dylan Beverly and Braden Flanagan came just shy of reaching double figures with eight points each in their regular season debuts.
-The Mountaineers held a significant edge in two important areas, winning the rebounding battle 38-31 and the turnover battle 22-17.
 
Up Next
Franklin is back in action on Tuesday (Nov. 14) night, hosting Millikin University. Tip-off from the Spurlock Center is set for 7:00 p.m.