Barons Lose Opener to OUE

Barons Lose Opener to OUE
By Dylan Ehle

STEUBENVILLE, OH - The Barons basketball team of Franciscan University of Steubenville hosted Ohio University Eastern in their season opener on Wednesday night, losing 88-77.  The Barons overcame a 47-21 halftime deficit to close the gap to as little as 8 in the closing minutes.  With the loss, the Barons fell to 0-1 (0-0) on the season.

Senior Matt Liedel led the Barons on the night with 26 points, while guard Pete Burak had 15, Josh Ducoulumbier had 13, and Mike Feuz and John Moore each added 8.  Steve Luckhardt of OUE led all scorers with 29 points, while teammates Zach Tolzda and Jason Shaw had 13 and 11 points, respectively.  

"The first half was very disappointing," Barons coach Sean Donovan remarked post-game.  "This is a veteran team, and I was hoping that we could get off to a faster start.  We really came together in the second half, though, and rose to our ability at the close of the game.  This was also a very solid, good shooting OUE team, and definitely the best OUE squad that I have ever coached against."

The Barons' next contest is Saturday at 6 p.m. at Lycoming College.