ARCANUM – The Arcanum Trojans used a blistering opening quarter and key contributions from unexpected places to defeat the visiting Franklin Monroe Jets 51-41 in Friday night WOAC varsity boys basketball action, a rivalry game shaped by injuries and foul trouble on both benches.
“In this rivalry, you throw records out the window,” said Kevin Brackman. “Two really good teams. FM is well coached. You’re not going to get a 20-point win one way or the other, so we knew what we were coming into.”
Franklin Monroe’s night was complicated early as senior guard and leading scorer Lucas Brenner picked up quick fouls and spent long stretches on the bench before fouling out in the second half.
“I am extremely proud of our kids fighting and not having our leader point guard on the floor for essentially two quarters of the game,” said Troy Myers. “I understand theirs went out with an injury as well, but for our identity and who we are, to have a senior point guard—that’s a mountain to climb among what we’re already climbing.”
Arcanum capitalized early, knocking down four first-quarter three-pointers to bolt out to a 16-3 lead with 1:43 remaining in the opening period. Matthew McCans accounted for two triples, while Jace Mote and Bishop Cartwright each connected from beyond the arc, giving the Trojans a 16-6 advantage after one quarter.
Momentum shifted in the second period when Arcanum floor leader Mote went down with an injury early in the quarter. Franklin Monroe took advantage, drilling three three-pointers—one each from Cool, Gilbert, and Riffle—to win the quarter 11-6 and cut the Trojans’ halftime lead to 22-17.
“We started the game off really strong, then played a really slow game the second quarter,” Brackman said. “When Brenner was in foul trouble, I felt like we didn’t capitalize enough because he’s dangerous with the ball in his hands. He can do so many things.”
The Jets continued their push to open the third quarter, trimming the margin to 22-20 at the 7:42 mark. McCans answered with back-to-back three-pointers, restoring separation and pushing Arcanum’s lead to 30-22 with six minutes remaining.
A major boost came at 1:16 of the third quarter when 6’7” Ben Hamilton made his first appearance since suffering an earlier-season injury. Hamilton made an immediate impact, scoring at the rim to energize the home crowd and help extend the Trojans’ lead to 36-27. Arcanum closed the quarter ahead 38-27.
“We didn’t know Ben’s status and it came down to letting him play two minutes,” Brackman said. “We had a plan to put him back in at the end of the third. He played four to five minutes, had five points and three rebounds. When he checked in, the atmosphere in the gym changed—it allows us to separate. Big night for him.”
Franklin Monroe edged Arcanum 14-13 in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans never relinquished control. Hamilton logged several key minutes late, adding an old-fashioned three-point play as Arcanum sealed the 10-point conference victory.
“Our kids battled, they fought,” Myers said. “There are some obvious mistakes we have to get cleaned up as we prepare for the tournament, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
Brackman praised his seniors—particularly McCans—for stepping up under pressure.
“Our seniors stepped up tonight, most importantly Matthew McCans,” Brackman noted. “He hasn’t played Franklin Monroe in his entire career—he was sick last year and had a concussion the year before—so to FM people he was kind of a ghost. For him to step up and shoot the ball when Jace went down, it’s storybook. We just beat a 10-4 team in our conference without arguably one of the best point guards in the league. Bishop Cartwright played great minutes. It was an all-around good team win.”
BOX SCORE:
ARCANUM 51, FRANKLIN MONROE 41
ARCANUM – M. McCans 22, C. Ball 11, B. Cartwright 5, B. Hamilton 5, J. Mote 3, C. Kessler 3, C. Weiss 2 – TOTALS 9 12-19 7 51
FRANKLIN MONROE – B. Riffle 17, B. Gilbert 11, L. Brenner 7, B. Cool 3, R. Brumbaugh 2, E. Addis 1 – TOTALS 7 9-12 6 41
3-POINTERS
Arcanum 7 (M. McCans 5, B. J. Mote 1, B. Cartwright 1)
Franklin Monroe 6 (B. Gilbert 3, B. Riffle 2, B. Cool 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
16-06-16-13 51 Arcanum
06-11-10-14 41 Franklin Monroe
