JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Franklin men's basketball team wrapped up their first weekend of the regular season on Saturday (Nov. 16) afternoon, taking on Concordia Wisconsin in the consolation game of the Bill Merris Tournament, hosted by Illinois College.
 
The Grizzlies (1-1) got a balanced scoring attack that saw five players finish in double figures and Franklin never trail as they bested the Falcons (0-2) by a 75-63 score.
 
How it Happened
Franklin got off to an 11-2 run in the game's first four minutes and would eventually stretch their lead to double figures late in the first half. A Braylon Russell triple late in the half closed out a dominant opening 20 minutes that saw the Grizzlies take a 42-25 lead into the locker room.
 
The Grizzlies would lead by as many as 22 with eight minutes to play, but the Falcons slashed the lead down to eight at 67-59 with four minutes to go. But Franklin dug in down the stretch and held the Falcons to just four more points before the final buzzer sounded.
 
Inside the Box Score
-The Grizzlies shot 42.9% (27-for-63) from the floor, going 9-for-19 from three and 12-for-19 from the line.
-Russell led all players with 13 points in the game, followed by 12 points from Cooper Matthews, Cody Samples and Jessie Morgan III and 11 from Lynn King.
-Morgan pulled down a team-high eight rebounds as Franklin won the rebounding battle by a 39-38 count.
-Matthews was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 15.5 points over two contests.
 
Up Next
The Grizzlies are on the road for the next contest, which comes on Friday (Nov. 22) night and a meeting with in-state for Wabash. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.