For the first 27 minutes of its Saturday afternoon game at Berea, Franklin men's basketball appeared to be in complete command.

The host Mountaineers had other ideas over the final 13, surging late to claim a 77-69 triumph over the Grizzlies.

Franklin (13-9, 9-6 HCAC) used a 15-5 surge in the middle of the first half to build a 33-22 advantage. Justin Harrington hit a pair of 3-pointers and Will Spellman added two buckets during that run. The Grizzlies took a 37-30 edge into the break and had their largest lead, 55-42, after a Harrington layup with 13:03 remaining — but Berea outscored Frankin 20-2 over the next seven-plus minutes to go ahead 62-57.

A pair of Cooper Matthews free throws got the Griz within three at the 5:44 mark, but the Mountaineers maintained at least a two-possession lead over the last five minutes.

Harrington and Matthews each poured in 26 points for the Grizzlies while going a combined 18 of 18 from the foul line, but no one else scored more than five. Franklin turned Berea over 18 times but couldn't match the home team's shooting accuracy; the Mountaineers finished at 53% (28 of 53) whle the Grizzlies were a much cooler 37% (21 of 57).

Franklin will be at home for its final three regular-season games, starting with a Wednesday night (Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m.) showdown against Transylvania.