PITSBURG – The Franklin Monroe Jets battled back from a 40-36 deficit after three-quarters of play to earn a 49-46 WOAC win over the Arcanum Trojans.
“I’m ecstatic for our kids and the way they grinded that one out,” said Franklin Monroe coach Troy Myers. “Give Arcanum a lot of credit. They made shots, they were tough defensively.”
“With a team like FM that is experienced, we kept them at bay,” Arcanum Coach Kevin Brackman stated. “We held the lead until about two minutes left, and that just speaks to our kids being prepared. Troy does a great job, and his kids play hard.”
After one period of play, Arcanum took an 11-10 lead. Four players scored for both teams in the low-scoring affair.
In Period No. 2, the Trojans scored three points better than the Jets, 10-7, sending the teams to the break. Arcanum held a 21-17 advantage heading to the break.
“Their shooting performance was pretty impressive,” Myers said of the Trojans performance. “They were banging threes, and you think you have a possession stopped, and they’re banging threes. Give Arcanum a lot of credit. They made shots, they were tough defensively.”
The third period proved to be the offensive quarter of the night, with the neighboring teams playing to a 19-19 standoff, giving the visiting Trojans a slim four-point advantage with one quarter to play pace by eight Landon Flatter points. EB Fall accounted for seven and Eric Brenner six points in the third for Franklin Monroe.
“It felt at times we kept them out of their rhythm, but you can’t teach size, and you can’t teach strength,” said Coach Brackman. “In this environment, Landon (Flatter) stepped up big when we needed him. Our shooters were able to knock down shots, which kept giving us a cushion.”
The Jets stepped up play on both ends of the fourth quarter court, taking a 49-43 lead late in the period. Arcanum got a Charlie Weiss long 3-pointer from the top of the key with seconds left for a final three-point Franklin Monroe conference victory.
“We could have been broken a couple of times,” Coach Myers said. “Spiritually, there were a couple of instances that hurt our guys emotionally and mentally, but their fortitude to rebound and respond the right way made the difference and allowed them to stay in the game. Proud of them.”
“A couple of turnovers late, but the message that we just lived and we just proved to our team is when we’re down with arguably our best player out, we had everybody step up,” said Brackman.
Missing from the Arcanum lineup was the Trojans’ second leading scorer of the season, Matthew McCans, with a 9.7 scoring average.
“It’s hard to replace 10 points, but to get the points we got out of Jace (Mote), Charlie (Weiss), and Cohen (Etherington), those points were huge in a game like this,” Brackman said. “Those guys stepped up big.”
Flatter led Arcanum and all scorers with a game-high 14 points. Eric Brenner led Franklin Monroe with 13 points.
With the win, Franklin Monroe improves to 15-3 (8-2), while Arcanum goes to 10-7 (5-3) overall on the season.
BOXSCORE:
FRANKLIN MONROE 49, ARCANUM 46
FRANKLIN MONROE – E. Brenner 13, EB Fall 9, B. Denlinger 7, L. Brenner 6, B. Filbrun 6, B. Riffle 4, T. Riffle 2 – TOTALS 14 9-13 4 49
ARCANUM – L. Flatter 14, J. Mote 7, C. Weiss 7, G. Brubaker 5, C. Kessler 4, C. Ball 4, C. Etherington 3, B. Cartwright 2 – TOTALS 11 6-10 6 46
3-POINTERS
Franklin Monroe 4 (Filbrun 2, E. Brenner 1, Denlinger 1)
Arcanum 6 (J. Mote 2, C. Weiss 2, G. Brubaker 1, C. Etherington 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
10-07-19-13 49 Franklin Monroe
11-10-19-06 46 Arcanum
