On the road for its first action since the holiday, Franklin men's basketball didn't skip a beat.
A 12-0 run in the second half proved to be the difference as the Grizzlies clawed back to earn a 66-60 triumph over Regis College in their opening game at the Music City Classic in Nashville.
Down 49-44 with 9:25 to go in the game, Franklin (6-4) reeled off the next dozen points over the next 2:18Â of game action.
Rohan Pearson started the pivotal surge with a fast-break dunk, and
Avery Saunders followed with a putback before
Jesse Faires gave the Griz the lead for keeps with a 3-pointer at the 7:35 mark.
Braylon Russell added a layup before another Faires trey made it 56-49 with 6:26 remaining.
The lead grew as large as 64-51 on a
Dylan Beverly 3 with 3:52 to go before a late Regis rally briefly cut it to four with 11 seconds on the clock. Two
Justin Harrington foul shots iced it for Franklin, which forced 16 turnovers while committing just seven.
Cooper Matthews paced a balanced Griz offense with 12 points, followed by Harrington with 10. Faires, Saunders and Russell wound up with nine points apiece and Beverly had eight. Saunders grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double.
The Grizzlies are back in action Tuesday afternoon (2 p.m.) against Oswego State.
