FRANKLIN – The Franklin men's basketball team stepped onto the Spurlock Center floor for the final time in the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 8) afternoon, taking on the Berea Mountaineers.
 
It was an afternoon full of celebration, as the Grizzlies (16-6, 12-3 HCAC) said thank you to their seven seniors and senior manager before the game. Once pre-game festivities concluded, the Griz took care of business on the court, downing the Mountaineers (10-12, 5-10 HCAC) 88-79.
 
How it Happened
Franklin opened the game with a 7-2 run and took their largest lead of the first half at 24-13 following a Braden Flanagan layup with 11 minutes to go in the opening half. Berea fought back with a 13-0 run to take their first lead of the day at 35-32 with four minutes to go in the period and the teams would head into the break locked in a 42-42 tie.
 
The second half saw 10 lead changes and a pair of ties in the first six minutes of action before a 16-4 Franklin run broke the game open and gave the hosts a 71-59 lead with 9:31 to go in the game. The Grizzlies wouldn't let the Mountaineers within single digits until the final seconds, closing out their third victory in a row.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Franklin shot 47.6% (30-for-63) on the afternoon, going 10-for-24 from deep and 18-for-24 from the line.
-Lynn King dropped a game-high 22 points, draining a career-high four three-pointers and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
-Flanagan added 21 points and grabbed five rebounds.
-Jessie Morgan III added 12 points and Cooper Matthews chipped in with 11 points.
-Franklin held a 40-31 edge in the rebounding battle.
-Cody Samples handed out a game-high five assists.
-Malachi Archey finished with a career-high four steals.
-Jaume Arnal made the first start of his Franklin career, grabbing three rebounds.
-It was the final regular season home game for King, Samples, Flanagan, Archey, Morgan, Arnal and Ryan Bostic, with each honored before the game along with team manager and photographer, Reis Warrum.
 
Up Next
Franklin starts a regular season ending three-game road trip on Wednesday (Feb. 12) night, traveling to Lexington, Ky. for a meeting with the Transylvania Pioneers. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.