<p>Two chapters were written during the Franklin College men’s basketball game Wednesday night.</p><p>One on offense that would have been textbook reading to any basketball fan, and the other on defense.</p><p>Franklin wrote the offensive chapter, and although they were victimized by the defense authored by opponent Transylvania, it was enough for the host Grizzlies to win, 84-81 and keep themselves in first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.</p><p>The win was the fifth straight for Franklin College (9-4, 5-1 HCAC).</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>While it was a near-perfect first half for the Grizzlies, it almost wasn’t enough against the pesky Pioneers.</p><p>“When you survive one of these it really has the potential to strengthen you,” Franklin College coach Kerry Prather said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”</p><p>But what a half it was for the Grizzlies, as they blistered the nets from the field for a remarkable 76 percent. Those weren’t little dink shots off the glass or dunks, either. That figured included an equally impressive 6 of 8 from behind the 3-point line.</p><p>The game was one of ebbs and flows as Franklin roared out to a 23-12 early before Transylvania closed the gap to five.</p><p>Franklin then got even hotter and extended the lead to 16 with a 50-34 score at the half.</p><p>Transylvania (6-6, 2-3) employed some tenacious defense that not only cooled the Grizzlies’ shooting but also helped create some much-needed turnovers. The Pioneers went smaller and their pressure defense gave the Grizzlies all kinds of fits in the second half, chipping away at the lead and eventually taking it for the first time with 6:16 left in the game.</p><p>It wasn’t until under a minute to play when Franklin composed itself enough and went back into the lead thanks to free throws from Kale Morris and Sam Gutierrez. In fact, it was Morris’ two freebies with 6.4 seconds left in the game that sealed it, forcing the Pioneers into a desperation 3-point shot that fell short.</p><p>“I felt we were a little passive, which is a hazard, but the guys were working as hard as they can,” Prather said. “We’ll still stay in first place.”</p><p>Franklin had all five starters in double figures, with Payton Mills leading the way with 18 points. Morris added 17, followed by Matt Krause (15), Borden Kennedy (11) and Gutierrez (10).</p><p>The Pioneers’ Gabe Schmitt led all scorers with 31 points.</p><p>Franklin will continue to defend first place on Saturday in a 3 p.m. matinee game at Anderson, in a game that will determine the top spot in the league standings.</p>
