FRANKLIN – The Franklin men's basketball team wrapped up the 2022-23 regular season on Friday (Feb. 17) night in front of a rowdy Spurlock Center crowd against the Rose-Hulman Engineers.
 
Four Grizzlies (13-12, 9-9 HCAC) finished the night in double figures in a game that featured 20 lead changes and eight ties and came down to the final possession. However, that possession went to the Engineers (15-10, 12-6 HCAC) and they claimed a buzzer-beating win 73-71.
 
How it Happened
Neither team led by more than four points in the opening 20 minutes, with the Engineers' three-point shooting driving their offense and the Grizzlies having a counter on the inside down at the other end. The opening 20 minutes featured 10 lead changes and seven ties and the teams headed into the locker room all square at 36.
 
The Grizzlies opened the second half with a 9-2 run, capped by a Cody Samples three that made it 45-38 with 17:20 to play and gave the hosts their largest lead of the night. Rose-Hulman battled back to take their first lead of the second half with 9:05 to play, setting up a wild finish that saw nine more lead changes and one tie before the final buzzer.
 
Down by three with less than a minute to play, Franklin drew even thanks to an unlikely source when Jacob Deere canned a three from the left corner to tie the game at 71 with 21 seconds to play. The Engineers held for the final shot, with Miles McGowan collecting a rebound off the miss for a buzzer-beating bucket.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Carter Crowe led the Grizzlies with 18 points and five assists, going 8-for-13 from the field and playing a team-high 36:31.
-Deere joined him in double figures with 11 points, as did Jalen Love and Cody Samples with 10 points each.
-Franklin shot 52.9% (27-for-51) from the floor while the Engineers knocked down 46.7% (28-for-60) of their shots.
-Lynn King led the Grizzlies with seven rebounds as Franklin held their own on the glass against a bigger Rose rotation. Rebounds were 31-28 on the night in Rose's favor.
 
Up Next
Franklin's search for a third straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) tournament championship on Sunday (Feb. 19) afternoon. The sixth-seeded Grizzlies tip off the tournament against third-seeded Hanover at 4:00 p.m.