Franklin men's basketball coach Chris Hamilton and his players didn't get too worked up when they fell into a quick 12-0 hole against HCAC co-leader on Wednesday night.

The Grizzlies trusted that eventually, the results would catch up with the game plan. And they were right.

A 9-0 run midway through the second half put Franklin out in front, and a young crew held onto that advantage down the stretch for a big 74-71 triumph at the Spurlock Center.

"If you look at only the scoreboard, it would look like everything was going wrong," Hamilton said. "But when you trust the prep, there was proof that we were getting what we wanted, just the result wasn't going in our favor at the time. ... I think the cool heads of the players, the support of the bench — everybody played a huge role in recognizing that it's a 40-minute game, not a four-minute game."

Anderson scored the first dozen points of the game as the Griz (10-7, 6-4 HCAC) missed their first 10 shots from the field along with a pair of free throws. But a tenacious defensive effort sparked a 13-2 surge, capped off by a Dylan Beverly dunk that cut it all the way down to 21-20 at the nine-minute mark of the first half. The Ravens pulled back out in front by as many as 13 before Franklin scored the last seven points of the half — a run finished off by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rohan Pearson — to get back within range at 41-37.

After briefly surrendering the lead for the first time early in the second half, Anderson appeared to be regaining control when it was up 60-56 with 10:15 remaining. But an Avery Saunders putback and a Pearson layup keyed a burst of nine straight points over the next 3:35 that put Franklin on top to stay. The Ravens got within three on a pair of occasions and eventually got within two, 73-71, in the final minute, but Cooper Matthews pushed the lead to three with a free throw and Anderson's rushed 3-point attempt to tie it at the buzzer was well off the mark.

Hamilton was proud of how his relatively inexperienced group closed out a tight game against a quality opponent.

"We've got four guys that are 21; everybody else is younger," Hamilton said. "It's just them showing that the team is bigger than the individual, and when they play like that, it is a special group."

Pearson had 21 points to lead the Grizzlies, while Matthews finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and six of the Grizzlies' 17 steals. Justin Harrington chipped in with 12 points and Beverly had eight.

Franklin will be on the road Saturday afternoon (Jan. 24) at Earlham.