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Franklin knocks Boro from ranks of unbeaten
Franklin had less than 24 hours to celebrate its impressive 69-47 win over Springboro on Tuesday night, but it won’t long be forgotten.
Franklin (6-0) - which focuses today’s practice on co-Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division leader Valley View - won the nonleague game against its rival in decisive fashion. The Wildcats’ transition game helped them bolt to a 24-9 lead, and an aggressive defense led by 6-foot-8 seniors Jacob and Justin Rossi helped keep the Panthers (8-1) off the boards. The Wildcats pulled down 32 rebounds - 14 of them offensive - and limited the Panthers to just 10 defensive boards and 20 overall.
• Trey bien: Franklin knocked down eight 3-pointers, including three momentum-busting shots from senior Tyler Budde in the second quarter. Two of those came in the final 2:05 of the half.
“I thought Franklin shot the ball well, and we couldn’t get a run going because they were making shots,” Springboro coach Troy Holtrey said.
Jacob Rossi opened the quarter with a 3-pointer over Springboro’s 6-foot-10 center Maverick Morgan, who missed much of the first quarter with foul trouble.
• Fresh face: Luke Kennard said he felt the nerves early - the Wildcats’ 6-4 freshman missed his first two shots including an air ball - but recovered with a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter. The first was a couple feet behind the arc. He finished with a team-high 22 points (six points above his average).
“I was nervous because it was a big game,” said Kennard, who had chants of “Airball!” rained down on him from Springboro’s student section in the early going. “We had a good game plan coming in. It was nerve-wracking coming in but we got used to it.”
The highly-touted Kennard, said to be one of the best freshmen in the state, looked unflappable running the Wilcats’ transition game.
“He’s a heck of a basketball player and I thought he did a great job controlling the game,” Holtrey said.” They played with a lot of emotion.”
• Foul trouble:: Morgan entered the game averaging 24 points and 10.5 rebounds, but was limited to 14 points and four rebounds. The major Division I recruit was saddled with foul trouble in the first quarter.
“Our major game plan was obviously to go at Maverick. He’s such a force in there,” Franklin coach Brian Bales said. “We wanted to go at him early and see if we could get him in foul trouble. He can’t score if he’s not in there.”
The Panthers were also limited as junior Jake Pfahl (8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds) missed the game with an injury.
• Mapes steps up: With Morgan limited, Springboro senior Jack Mapes delivered with a season-high 23 points. He hit five 3-pointers (for the second time this season) on nine attempts.
“He has some toughness about him and made good shots,” Holtrey said. “When we got in trouble he was the guy that stepped up and said I have to get my team through it. I thought he was a warrior out there for us.”
• School spirit: Both students sections were in postseason form and their banter back and forth was at times as entertaining as the game. Boro fans tossed “Over-rated!” at Kennard after his slow start. Franklin fans returned the favor by directing the same chant at Morgan after he picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter.
“Our community came out and really gave us the energy to play inspired basketball,” Bales said. “I want to publicly thank our community. It was a special night.”
About 2,700 spectators packed Springboro’s gym and fans were being turned away at halftime of the reserve game, about an hour and 15 minutes before the varsity tip-off.
• R & R: Franklin was playing its first game since Dec. 16, a layoff of 17 days, and showed no signs of rust. The Wildcats trailed 2-0 and it was tied 4-4 before they ripped off a 16-3 run.
“It was tough for our guys to practice two weeks without a game,” Bales said. “ … We were ready for this. I thought we did a really nice job executing the game plan.”
• Quoteable: “We respect them. They’re one of the better teams we’ve prepared for in a long time. But our kids expected to win. We have confidence in our kids,” Bales said.
“You don’t tell them to forget it; you remember it. Our goal is to become a great basketball team, and I don’t think you become a great basketball team until the year is over. … I told them things have been going awfully well for us, and maybe this will put a little hunger back in us about getting better instead of being good,” said Holtrey.
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