FRANKLIN – For the first time in 18 years, the Spurlock Center played host to a post-season men's basketball contest when the second-seeded Franklin men's basketball team welcomed seventh-seeded Berea to town for a quarterfinal matchup in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament.
 
The two teams turned in an instant classic, with Franklin (19-7) fighting back from a double-digit second half deficit to force overtime and stun Berea (11-15), 88-85.
 
How it Happened
Franklin was unable to slow down a lethal Berea shooting attack in the opening half, as the Mountaineers went 17-for-28 in the opening period and connected on five three-pointers. Berea held their largest lead of the night at 41-28 with 3:20 to go in the opening half, and headed into the locker room holding a 45-35 lead.
 
With a raucous home crowd willing the team on all night, Franklin came out of the half an immediately sliced the Berea lead down to 46-44 in the first five minutes. But Berea held off the initial rally and stretched their lead back to 12 at 63-51 with 10 minutes to play. Still down by double digits with eight minutes to play and time running out, Franklin began to make their push and set up a dramatic finish.
 
An 8-2 run capped by a Cody Samples three-point play got the Berea lead down to 70-67 with 4:34 to play. After trailing since the game's first possession, Franklin took their first leas of the day with 1:48 to play when Cooper Matthews earned three points the hard way to make it 77-76. Berea evened things up at 77 with 1:28 to go, and neither team scored the rest of the half and overtime was needed to decide a winner.
 
The Grizzlies held Berea to one bucket in the first half of overtime and took their largest lead of the game when Samples buried a corner three to make it 86-82 with 1:40 to play. Samples added two more free throws in the final 30 seconds of play and Franklin forced a Berea turnover on the game's final possession, closing out the win and drawing the Franklin student section onto the floor to celebrate.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Franklin had six players finish the game in double figures, with Jessie Morgan III leading the way with 20 points.
-Lynn King had 16 points and 11 boards while Samples (14 pts), Braden Flanagan (12 pts), Matthews (11 pts) and Jesse Faires (10 pts) turned in big efforts.
-Franklin shot 42.3% (30-for-71) from the floor, going 7-for-19 from three and 21-for-30 from the line.
-The Grizzlies finished with a 43-32 edge on the glass, hauling down 24 offensive rebounds on the night.
-Matthews finished with four assists and a pair of blocks, leading the team in both categories.
-The win marks the first post-season victory for head coach Chris Hamilton and Franklin's first since winning the 2022 HCAC Tournament against Hanover.
-Berea got a huge game from Trey Minter, as he went off for a game-high 37 points on 13-for-26 shooting.
 
Up Next
The Grizzlies advance to face third-seeded Rose-Hulman in the semifinals of the HCAC Tournament next Friday (Feb. 28) night in Anderson, Ind., with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m.
 
The winner will advance to the HCAC championship game on Saturday (Mar. 1) against either top-seeded Anderson or fourth-seeded Hanover.