Franklin men's basketball scored the first point in its road game against Hope on Saturday evening. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the lead belonged to the Flying Dutchmen the rest of the night, as the visitors went cold over the last 20-plus minutes and came back to central Indiana with a 79-59 loss.
The Grizzlies (0-2) hung tough for most of the first half, closing to within two at 22-20 when
Justin Harrington hit a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes left in the half. Franklin was still within four at the two-minute mark before Hope closed with six unanswered points to end the first half and another 10 to start the second, extending its lead to 51-31.
After shooting 46% from the field in the first half (13 of 28), the Grizzlies cooled to 8 of 29 (27.6%) in the second to fall off the pace despite forcing 20 Hope turnovers.
Harrington finished with 18 points to lead the Griz, who also got eight points from
LeBron Bennie-Powell.
Franklin will play an exhibition game at Bellarmine this coming Tuesday before hosting DePauw in its home opener on Nov. 18.
