By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Trailing by eight with less than five minutes remaining in the game, host Aquinas rallied to defeat Franklin, 80-74 in non-league boys’ basketball action, Tuesday night.
“We got a little out of sorts,” said Aquinas head coach Jeff LaFave. “We got into their game going up and down. They were getting run outs. I said ‘guys, that’s not our game.’ It only took one (stop), then another one, and you could see we got our mojo back. That was the turning point. That was it. It was over after that.”
Senior forward Chris Leysath cut the lead in half with a bucket in the post and pair of free throws two possessions later.
Micah Anderson converted twice from the free throw line to make it 69-64 game.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM DENNIS JOYCE HERE.
The Aquinas defense then forced turnovers on five of the next six possessions.
“Once we got frantic, that’s when the turnovers came,” Franklin head coach Joseph Jackson, Jr. said. “The crowd got into it. This is a tough atmosphere to win in.”
At the other end of the floor, Mackie Terry scored seven of his 15 points. The junior got ahead of the defense for a layup. After Christian McCullough cut the lead to one at 69-68 with a layup, Terry followed with two from the charity stripe and a corner three-pointer. Aquinas had a lead it did not surrender at 73-69.
Christian McCullough makes it a one-point game. pic.twitter.com/1Rx1j6w65o
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 6, 2023
Mackie Terry. 3 Aquinas 77-72 with 1:23 on the clock. pic.twitter.com/1xVjGo9lQD
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 6, 2023
“He’s going to have a breakout year,” LaFave said of Terry. “He was kinda like one of our other guys last year who could have a good game here or there. If he’s consistent like we think he’s going to be, he’s going to be one of the ones we’re talking about at the end of the year.”
Leysath led five in double figures with 18 points to go with nine rebounds and five steals. Anderson, McCullough and Jadeir Breedlove scored 14 apiece in the win.
Aquinas improved to 3-0.
“This time of year, you want to get out to the best start you can,” LaFave said. “As many wins as you can stack up, the better you are. We’re not going to go 20-and-O. Our schedule is too tough. There’s too much good competition like Franklin out there. We want to stack as many as we can get early and get ourselves in good position come playoff time.”
Anderson, Breedlove, McCullough and Terry each had four assists on the night. Terry added six steals. Anderson collected five thefts and grabbed four rebounds.
Franklin trailed by as many as five points early in the third quarter. Terence Thompson scored on a putback to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the second half at 55-54.
Shawn Goins nailed a corner triple then led Lavante Brown into the open floor for a layup. Thompson followed with an emphatic dunk, and Brown made it a 66-58 game – the largest lead of the night for either team.
Terence Thompson block and outlet to Lavante Brown. Franklin on an 11-0 run leads 66-58. pic.twitter.com/Dk1oY0PbTD
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 6, 2023
“We definitely need to work on situational stuff, taking care of the ball, closing out a game with an eight-point lead,” Jackson said. “There’s no reason for us not to come out with a victory today.”
Goins hit four 3-pointers and led all scorers with 22. Thompson had 18. Kollin McCullough accounted for 12 points, and Clarence Thompson added 11. Brown (8) and Daniel Gay (2) also scored for Franklin (0-1).
“We’re going to take this one on the chin,” Jackson said. “It’s bittersweet, but we’re definitely going to bounce back.”
Franklin hosts UPrep on Thursday.
Quante Gillians (3) and Trent Buttles (2) also scored for Aquinas.
The Li’l Irish travel to Buffalo to face Nichols Academy on Friday.
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