Barons Display High-Power Play Despite Loss

STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan University of Steubenville Barons basketball team hosted the Mount Aloysius College Mounties Wednesday night, losing 95-83. The Barons now stand 4-12 within the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and 5-15 overall in the season.

“Mount Aloysius plays a high-tempo style and that’s how they beat us tonight,” Barons coach Sean Donovan remarked. “We’ve been successful when able to slow the game down, but we weren’t able to do that tonight. And it was great for us to have five players totaling points in the double-digits, showing that we’re capable of scoring high, but we’re not going to win a shoot-out against a team like this. They caught fire early and never really stopped.”

The Barons kept an aggressive pace with the Mounties for the majority of the first half but lost momentum close to halftime, trailing 50-39 at the break. The Barons second-half defense held Mount Aloysius scoreless for the first five minutes, but the Mounties soon put together an impressive run to regain lost ground and reestablish a double-digit lead. The Barons made a late surge and cut the deficit to 86-80 only to be stifled by several key free throws down the stretch by Mount Aloysius.

Connor Flanagan was the leading scorer for the Barons with 22 points, also hauling in six boards. Josh Ducoulombier followed with 17 points, while Thomas Kleinschnitz, Andrew Kay, and Matt Liedel added 15, 14, and 12 points, respectively. Kay also led the Barons with nine rebounds, nearly reaching a double-double on the night.

The Barons are now 1-3 against the Mounties since entering the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

The Barons will host the Hilbert College Hawks this Saturday at 3 p.m.