February 17, 2001

The third time wasn't the charm in Founders Hall Saturday afternoon as Bluffton College fell to a determined Franklin College squad 88-76.

It was the third meeting this season between the two schools, with Bluffton having won the previous two, including a record-setting 28-point comeback at Franklin on January 17. There would be no comeback this time, however, as the visiting Grizzly squad held BC to a 43.8% shooting performance from the floor that included just 6-24 from 3-point land (25.0%)

BC falls to 16-8 and now waits for the Heartland Conference tournament first round pairings to be announced. With a 6-6 HCAC record BC has a good chance at hosting a first round game on Tuesday night. Franklin improves to 13-11 overall and 5-7 in the HCAC.

After an emotional Senior Day ceremony that saw injured Jeremy Roberts take the floor as part of the starting line up, the Beavers looked to be close to taking control of the game. A 6-0 run with 13:00 left in the first half gave BC a 14-13 lead, but Franklin then held Bluffton without a field goal for the next six minutes of the game. BC would never regain the lead.

The Grizzlies took a 43-32 lead at halftime and led by as many as 26 points in the second half. BC got to within 11 points with under a minute to go but Franklin was able to hold off another possible BC comeback.

Senior Chad Cramer led Bluffton with 18 points and seven rebounds, while junior Travis Elsass netted 17 points and four assists. Freshman Scott Remaklus chipped in 15 points and had three steals.

Franklin guard Jake Sappenfield led five FC players in double figures with 19 points.

-BEAVERS-