FRANKLIN – The Franklin men's basketball team made their Spurlock Center debut on Tuesday (Nov. 26) night, hosting the Knox College Prairie Fire in the team's home opener.
After a slow start to the night, the Grizzlies (3-1) turned in a dominant second half at both ends of the floor to erase a double-digit first half deficit and best Knox (2-3) 95-81.
The tale of the night was the final 20 minutes of play that saw the hosts shoot 62.5% (20-for-32) from the floor and forced the Prairie Fire to rush their play on the offensive side of the ball.
How it Happened
Knox raced out to an early 9-2 lead and would stretch their lead to 35-24 with 4:38 to go in the opening half, the Prairie Fire's largest lead of the night. Franklin made a big push to cut into the lead before the half and would get back within a possession at 43-41 at halftime. The Grizzlies shot just 38.9% from the floor and 3-for-14 from deep in the first half but held a 19-5 edge in points off turnovers that helped keep the game tight.
A 12-0 run to start the second half gave the Grizzlies their largest lead of the night to that point at 53-43 with 16:26 to play. Knox fought back with eight straight points to follow Franklin's run, and the two teams sat tied at 63 with 10 minutes to go in the ball game.
Over the next three minutes, the Grizzlies put the game out of reach as a 13-2 run for the home side re-established a double-digit lead and gave the Grizzlies all the cushion they needed to run away with their third win of the year.
Inside the Box Score
-Franklin knocked down 50% (34-for-68) of their shot attempts on the night, knocking down nine threes and going 18-for-26 from the line.
-Five Grizzlies finished the night in double figures, led by 20 points from
Jessie Morgan III with the Griz big man handing out a career-high six assists.
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Braden Flanagan added 18 points with
Cooper Matthews and
Malachi Archey each chipping in with 13 points.
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Cody Samples was all over the floor, finishing with 16 points and adding five assists and a career-high six steals.
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Lynn King pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
-Franklin put on a clinic sharing the ball, recording 22 assists on 34 field goals made.
-The Grizzlies finished with 21 turnovers that turned into 31 points.
Up Next
Franklin hits the road after the holiday break to take on Millikin University on Saturday (Nov. 30) afternoon. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m.
