The Grizzlies, seeded third in the league tourney, had their 11-point second half lead whittled to just two points at 61-59 with 4:14 to go, but outscored the Lions 11-7 the rest of the way to advance. Franklin (17-9) next will meet Transylvania University in the semifinals round at Hanover College on Feb. 25.
Sophomore Alan Davidson and senior Justin Brown led the FC attack, scoring 19 and 18 points, respectively. Davidson’s total was a game-best mark while Brown scored all 18 of his points in the opening half.
Junior Nick Kane contributed 14 points and had four blocked shots, giving him Franklin’s single-season record (he now has 72 blocks). The old record of 70 was shared by former Grizzlies Mike Huebner (1979-80) and Scott Roberts (1987-88). Kane broke both the single-game and career blocked shots marks earlier this season.
Mount St. Joseph, which finished 12-14 overall, sported a balance scoring attack with Chris Huening leading the way with 16 points. Derrick Jones and Kevin Darthard added 14 points apiece and Robbie Noschang chipped in 10.
The Grizzlies narrowly out-shot the Lions 48 to 46 percent and had 29 rebounds to Mount St. Joseph’s 26.
Franklin will take on second-seeded Transylvania at 6 p.m. in the Feb. 25 semifinals in Hanover’s Collier Arena. Bluffton University, seeded fifth, will challenge No. 1 seed and host Hanover at 8 p.m. The championship game, which determines the conference’s automatic bid to next week’s NCAA Division III playoffs, will be Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. (also at Hanover).