FRANKLIN, Ind. – On Wednesday, January 31th your Mount St. Joseph University Men's Basketball team traveled on the road to take on Franklin College. After a slow start out of the gates, the Lions stiffened on the defensive end to find easy baskets on the offensive end to pull ahead late and earn a 63-58 hard fought HCAC Conference Road win. The Lions would shoot an efficient 80% from the free throw line while also connecting on 9 three-point attempts at a 43% clip.
In the first half, the Lions and Grizzlies battled back in forth. Senior
Jack Kolar wasted no time to get the momentum in favor of the Mount with a three pointer that was made with a foul call to take advantage of the traditional four-point play with the free throw being made. The Lions would continue to live beyond the arc as Kolar connected once again with his third three-point jumper going through the net. Franklin College would refuse to go away as they continued to try and play with tempo ending the half with 5 made threes themselves. The Lions would find themselves down 8 with 4 minutes remaining as Kolar continued to shine with another three-point bucket giving him 13 points in the first half. At the break, Franklin would lead 33-27.
To begin the 2
nd half, the Lions would waste no time getting the rock to their big man down low as
Luke Collinsworth would grab an offensive rebound and be fouled in the process and knock down a pair of free throws. The Lions would continue to scratch and claw to stay into the game until
Dylan Hammonds would tie the game at 48 with another three. The two evenly matched squads would trade 7-0 runs which was then followed by a Hammonds driving layup to give the Mount a two-point lead with under 3 minutes left. The defense would stiffen as no baskets were made for over two minutes before Kolar forced a turnover and laid it in on the other end to take a 3-point lead with 48 seconds.
Down the stretch, the Lions would not break on defense with back-to-back stops growing their lead after a pair of free throws from Hammonds. Collinsworth would also find himself at the line late with a chance to ice to game and he wasted no time connecting on his two free throws as the Lions earned a hard fought 63-58 road victory over the Grizzlies.
Jack Kolar was the catalyst for the Lions knocking down four three pointers and leading the team with 15 points.
Luke Collinsworth would also have a respectable game with another double-double performance scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds. Collinsworth would also shoot a solid 8/10 from the free-throw line.
Dylan Hammonds would be the third Lions in double digits tonight while filling the stat sheet by scoring 14 points, shooting 50% from the field and add 4 rebounds and 5 assists on the night.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph Men's Basketball team will take the floor again on Saturday, February 3 as they continue their 3-game road trip with a matchup against the Earlham Quakers. Tip-off is set for 3:00 PM
