PITSBURG – The Franklin Monroe Jets defeated the visiting Shelby County Athletic League’s (SCAL) Houston Wildcats 58-33 in a Saturday senior night non-conference win.
“Anytime you pay a team from Shelby County Athletic League, it’s a fight,” said Franklin Monroe coach Troy Myers. “Those guys have to scrap and claw for every game they play. You know that when you play them, but that was a good preparation for us come next Saturday when we have to play Fairlawn.”
The teams battled to a 17-13 first-quarter Franklin Monroe lead. Eric Brunner knocked down two 3-pointers and a two-point bucket to lead the Jets with eight first-period points.
Period No. 2 saw the teams play to an 8-8 standoff, with Trey Wilson and EB Fall each chipping in four Franklin Monroe points. The teams went to the halftime break, with the Jets leading 25-21.
The pesky Wildcats brought an early FM third-quarter timeout with the Jets struggling on both ends of the court. Houston made it a two-point 29-27 game at 4:25 before the Jets decided to come alive with an EB Fall 3-pointer, giving Franklin Monroe a 36-27 advantage and brought a full timeout from the Houston Bench. FM won the third by a double-digit 16-6 count and led 41-27 with one period to play.
“We took a timeout at 6:27 in the third; I had to get into them because our spirit wasn’t good, and our desperate move on defense wasn’t good,” said Myers. “From that point on, those guys responded, they responded like champions on the defensive end, which created offense for us, and that is what broke the game open – the ability to get some stops and then play in transition and not against a set defense.”
“We had some guys become aggressive in the third quarter getting to the rim, getting to the free throw line,” Myers added. “That is what broke the game open.”
Franklin Monroe kept up the pace in the fourth, taking the period 17-6 with six players denting the scoring column, giving the Jets a 25-point senior night win.
Seniors wearing the Blue and White for their final career home game included No. 1 Ty Riffle, No. 2 Tyson Miller, No. 3 Eric Brenner, No. 14 Trey Wilson, and No. 23 EB Fall.
“Those five guys, you get emotional in the locker room because of what they’ve done in the last two years for our program and reestablishing some standards, reestablishing some expectations,” Coach Myers stated. “Those guys spend a lot of time in this gym, and they work extremely hard to try and achieve certain things, and just to see them go out like they did tonight, closing down the game that way, is who they are. They weren’t going to walk out of here with a sour taste in their mouth, and they willed us to that victory in the second half.”
The final Jets home game of the 2024-2025 season was played before a packed senior night house, bringing praise from Coach Myers.
“The best I’ve seen all year for us,” Myers said. “It’s been ebb and flow for us over the years, some good crowds, but our crowds showed up this year. The guys are giving them something to be proud of, and when you give people something to be proud of, they come and support you, which is reciprocal. They have created a style of play and spirit that people enjoy watching, and I’m proud of them and super thankful for our fans.”
EB Fall led Franklin Monroe and all scorers with a game-high 21 points.
Franklin Monroe finishes the regular season with an impressive 20-2 overall record and a 10-1 second-place finish in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference (WOAC).
BOXSCORE:
FRANKLIN MONROE 58, HOUSTON 33
FRANKLIN MONROE – EB Fall 21, E. Brenner 16, B. Riffle 6, T. Wilson 6, T. Riffle 4, L. Brenner 3, Filbrun 2 – TOTALS 17 12-17 4 58
HOUSTON – S. Bowman 9, D. Burks 8, G. Cole 6, L. Crim 4, J. Leist 4, A. Pollock 2 – TOTALS 8 5-8 4 33
3-POINTERS
Franklin Monroe 4 (E. Brenner 2, L. Brenner 1, EB Fall 1)
Houston 4 (G. Cole 2, D. Burks 1, L. Crim 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
17-08-16-17 58 Franklin Monroe
13-08-06-06 33 Houston
