LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 12) - Franciscan University used a late second half surge to pull away from Saint Vincent for an 85-75 victory in a Presidents' Athletic Conference battle in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
Trailing 50-47 with 12:42 left in regulation, the Barons erupted for a 28-5 run over a seven-minute span to open up a 17-point lead from which the Bearcats could not recover.
Jayven Millien came off the bench to score 30 points for SVC, including 23 in the second half, while Nelson Etuk added 13 for the Bearcats and Kaleb Fields and Ethan Dunsey nine apiece. The Bearcats shot a solid 46 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Barons 43-31, but Franciscan connected on 16 three-pointers and scored 24 points off of 19 Saint Vincent turnovers.
Franciscan got off to a hot start, taking a quick 10-0 lead less than three minutes into play, with eight points coming from leading scorer Sean Hickey, who matched Millien with 30 points on the afternoon. The Baron lead would eventually stretch to 13-2, but Saint Vincent would answer right back with eight straight points to pull to within three-points on an Etuk layup with 13:44 left in the half.
The Barons countered to take a 19-12 lead with 12 minutes left, but a jumper from Millien, a layup from Diego Martinez and a three-pointer from Fields tied the game at 19-all with 9:10 remaining until the break. Millien then scored five points in a 40-second span to give SVC its first lead of the day 24-22, with 6:08 left. The teams would trade the lead over the next several minutes before the Bearcats closed the half with a 7-2 run to take a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
Over the first 20 minutes of play, Saint Vincent shot a blistering 57 percent (13-for-23) from the field, compared to a 41 percent (12-for-29) showing from the Barons. Seven of Franciscan's 12 field goals came from behind the arc, while SVC went 4-for-6 from distance.
Franciscan scored the first seven points of the second half to jump ahead 40-36, but led by Millien, SVC answered right back. Trailing 45-38, the rookie swingman took over, erupting for 12 points over a three-minute span to push SVC in front 50-47 with 12:42 left in regulation.
The tide then swung the way of the Barons in a big way, as they would outscore the hosts 28-5 over the next seven minutes to take a 75-55 lead with 5:12 remaining. The lead would eventually swell to 80-59 with just inside four minutes left. Saint Vincent attempted one last rally, out-scoring Franciscan 16-5 over the final five minutes, but the 20-point deficit was too much to overcome.
Martinez led Saint Vincent's effort on the glass by pulling in a team-best 10 rebounds, while Etuk snared eight boards and Dunsey six.
Hickey's 30-point effort was bolstered by his seven made three-pointers, while he also dished four assists and grabbed six boards. The Barons' Josh Zimmerman had a well-rounded afternoon with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Bearcats will now look forward to a pair of road games over the final week of the regular season, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. matchup at PAC foe Geneva College on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
