Hoping to pull even with the Pioneers in the conference standings, Franklin College instead struggled to shoot the basketball right from the opening tip-off in a 63-48 setback in Spurlock Center.
The verdict, which spoiled Senior Night, dropped the Grizzlies to 8-5 in the HCAC and 16-8 overall and improved Transylvania to 10-3 in the league and 18-5. The Pioneers remained in a first-place tie with Hanover College, which won 59-55 this evening at College of Mount St. Joseph (Ohio).
Transylvania, which never trailed in the contest, held FC to just six points in the first 10 minutes and steadily built a 27-18 lead at the intermission. In the second half, the Pioneers bumped up their advantage to as many as 20 points – several of their baskets on long passes for open lay-ups.
The Grizzlies missed all 10 of their three-point attempts, but shot better overall after the break. However, Franklin hurt itself considerably at the free-throw line, hitting just eight of 21 foul shots for the night.
Front-liners Matt Finke and Nick Feagan led a balanced Transylvania scoring attack with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Franklin junior Nick Kane was the only Grizzly to score points in double figures with 17.