HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert College rallied from a 17-point, first-half deficit to pull within four points by intermission, and after building a six-point lead late in the game, dropped an 84-82 non-conference loss to Franciscan University in men's basketball this afternoon in the Hafner Recreation Center. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

Quran Briggs led all scorers today with 22 points and paired nine rebounds with three assists for Hilbert. 
 
Nevada Eldridge joined Edward Perez and Eric Jackson in the double-figure scoring club as they netted 11, 10 and 10 points respectively.  Perez (8) and Eldridge (7) each grabbed three offensive rebounds but it was Jahmel Demery who earned game-high honors with 11 rebounds.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Franciscan jumped all over Hilbert right from the tip.  The Barons applied full-court pressure switching from man, to ¾ court zone, to run and jump at times. 
• Hilbert found themselves rushing shots and scrambling to get back on defense the first ten minutes. 
• Franciscan built a 17-point lead (29-12) after the Hawks committed seven turnovers with 9:42 on the game clock.
• Perez started the 8-0 run with four points and Briggs finished with the other two makes slicing the spread to single digits just two minutes later.
• Both teams traded scores before the Hawks closed the half on a 6-point run by Briggs setting the 41-37 score after twenty minutes of action.
• Both squads went back to their starters at the second period and Hilbert's first five outscored Franciscans 13-5 seven minutes in, lifting the Hawks to a 50-46 lead.
• The Barons regained the lead (54-50) but Elijah Powell's back-to-back makes in the paint along with Desmond Davis' fastbreak score, Nathan Moore's hard drive to the hoop, and Jahmel Demery's offensive put-back gave Hilbert a 60-54 advantage again ten minutes into the second half.
• Hilbert was in control for the next eight minutes switching from man defense to zone and maintained a one-to-two possession lead until Franciscan knotted the game at 82-all with 1:05 left.
• After a Hilbert turnover with 0:50 on the clock, Franciscan called a timeout with ten seconds left in their possession. 
• The Barons found room for the score and then forced Hilbert into an off-balance rushed shot as time wound down.

GAME NOTES 

• Hilbert outscored the Barons by a 50-38 margin in the paint, but Franciscan connected on seven more 3-point makes than the Hawks for the win.
• Hilbert finished the game hitting 41.3-percent from the field, made only two shots from beyond the arc and went 14-19 from the charity stripe.
• Franciscan shot 43.2-percent from the floor with 30 of their 74 field goal attempts taken from beyond the 3-point line. 

UP NEXT

Hilbert (2-3) returns for another non-conference contest this Tuesday, November 29^th when they host Medaille University in the Hafner Recreation Center at 5:30 pm