FRANKLIN – Powered by a career night from junior Braden Flanagan, the Franklin men's basketball team knocked off its oldest rival and ran their winning streak to five games.
 
Flanagan set a career-high with 30 points, and the Grizzlies (9-7, 7-2 HCAC) led arch-rival Hanover (10-6, 6-3 HCAC) for more than 32 minutes of game action in a 72-67 Grizzly victory. The win puts Franklin in a three-way tie for first place in the conference after one round of head-to-head meetings.
 
The Grizzlies led by as many as eight points in the opening half with Flanagan carrying the home team's offense. Flanagan had 21 points in the opening half and Franklin took a 28-27 lead into the break.
 
Franklin held on to their lead until midway through the second half when an 11-3 Panther run put Hanover in front 53-49 with 6:08 to play. The teams exchanged five leads and saw the score tied four times before the Grizzlies took the lead for good on a Malachi Archey layup followed by a Flanagan triple that made it 6lanagan triple that made it 64-60 with two minutes to play.
 
Franklin closed out the game at the free throw line to finish off their second straight win over the Panthers in the Spurlock Center.
 
Flanagan went 12-for-17 from the floor and 4-for-5 from long range to become the first Grizzly to hit 30 points in game this year and the first since Carter Crowe at Defiance on Dec. 3, 2022.
 
Ryan Bostic added 14 points in support and Archey finished with nine to lead all Franklin reserves. The Grizzlies shot 49.1% (28-for-57) on the night and kept the Panthers to 40% (26-for-65) from the floor.
 
Franklin tips off the second half of conference play on Saturday (Jan. 20), traveling to Anderson for a meeting of two teams tied atop the league. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.