Connor Flanagan Steps Up Against D’Youville

STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan University of Steubenville Barons basketball team lost a close contest against the D’Youville College Spartans Saturday night with a score of 74-68. With the loss, the Barons fell to 2-10 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and 3-13 overall.

The Barons started slow in the first half, trailing 19-8 midway through the period. Matt Liedel and Josh Ducoulombier struggled to find the hoop while Spartan Raysean Johnson dominated both ends of the court. However, Barons guard Connor Flanagan stepped up his shots towards the end of the half, closing the gap to 31-27 by halftime.

“Everyone played hard all the way through the game tonight,” Connor Flanagan commented. “We fought hard every possession – it really came down to the little things. D’Youville has some great players, especially Raysean Johnson, and they were just a bit better than we were tonight.”

The second half quickly became a back-and-forth contest. The Barons took the lead, 52-51, with a 3-pointer by freshman J.J. Pedulla. FUS stretched its lead to four, but D’Youville continually rallied back. Spartan Greg Osika hit three critical free throws in the final two minutes, enabling D’Youville’s to take a 74-68 victory.
Connor Flanagan registered a season-high 26 points and accrued seven rebounds and an assist for the Barons. Matt Liedel had 17 points and Thomas Klienschnitz added 14 points and six rebounds. Raysean Johnson carried D’Youville with a double-double, tallying 32 points and 11 rebounds.

“This was another tough, close loss,” Barons coach Sean Donovan said. “We’ve just lost too many close ones this year. There were two factors that really contributed to this loss. For one, Raysean Johnson is a phenomenal player, and he dominated us for most of the game. Second, they beat us off the dribble at the close of the game, and that’s really what made the difference. However, I thought that Connor had his breakout game for us tonight; he really stepped it up.”

The Barons’ next contest is at home this Wednesday against AMCC opponent Pitt-Greensburg at 8 p.m.