FRANKLIN – The Franklin men's basketball team looked for their first conference win of the year on Saturday (Dec. 7) afternoon, when they welcomed the Hanover Panthers to the Spurlock Center.
 
The Grizzlies (4-3, 1-1 HCAC) raced out to a big lead over the Panthers (5-2, 1-1 HCAC) early and closed out the contest strong, getting that important first league win of the year, 74-66.
 
How it Happened
It was all Grizzlies early on, as Franklin bolted out to a 16-2 lead eight minutes into the contest. After struggling to knock down shots early on, the Panthers started to find their groove on the offensive end and in turn, cut into Franklin's lead as the half wore on. Hanover got the Franklin lead down to a point late in the half, and the Grizzlies headed into the break with a 35-32 lead.
 
Hanover took their first lead of the game five minutes into the second half and the guests held their largest lead of the night at 54-49 with 11:24 to go. With six minutes to go, Franklin took the lead back when a Lynn King three made it 60-58, and the hosts would hold the lead for the rest of the afternoon. Jesse Faires drilled a critical corner three with 2:21 to play to make it 68-62, and the Grizzlies closed things out with stellar efforts at both ends of the floor.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Franklin knocked down 50.9% (27-for-53) of their shot attempts, going 8-for-20 from three and 12-for-14 from the line.
-King dropped a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers and grabbed six rebounds.
-Braden Flanagan added 18 points and Jessie Morgan III chipped in with 11 points.
-Rebounds were 30-25 in Franklin's favor, with Morgan's seven boards leading the team.
-Cody Samples handed out a team-high four assists.
 
Up Next
Franklin hits the road next Saturday (Dec. 14) afternoon for a conference showdown against the Berea Mountaineers. Tip-off from Kentucky is set for 3:00 p.m.