STEUBENVILLE, Pa. - The Hilbert College men's basketball team held on for their 6th straight win and improved to 4-0 in AMCC standings after they earned a hard fought, 70-68 win at Franciscan University.

THE BASICS
AMCC Game of the Week
⦁    Final Score: Hilbert 70 |  Franciscan 68
⦁    Location:  Finnegan Gym, Steubenville, Pa
⦁    Records: Hilbert College 8-1 (4-0 AMCC) Franciscan 2-5 (1-2 AMCC)


HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Hilbert took control of the game right off the tip.  Jacob Braniecki stole the Baron's first entry pass and took it the opposite distance for two and gave the Hawks a chance to play defense.  
• Hilbert's baseline-to-baseline pressure defense built a double digit (11-0) at 16:04.
• The Hawks, credited with seven steals in the game's first eight minutes, stretched their lead to 17-points (19-2).
• Franciscan slowly chipped away, outscored the Hawks 19-5 and sliced the difference  to just five points (26-21) at 5:24 left in the first period.
• Hilbert continued to pressure the hosts and forced four additional turnovers in the final minutes of the first half which  stretched their advantage back to eight points (32-24) by the break.
• The Hawks extensive defensive pressure forced the Barons into 28.6 percent shooting from the floor and 12 turnovers after 20 minutes of action.  
• Both teams were credited with 34 possessions with Hilbert converting 15 (of 36) from the field (.417).  Five different Hawks notched four points or more led by Jon Evans and Branieck's six.
• Franciscan came out of the locker room after intermission and displayed a soft, full-court  press which slowed the royal and white's attack. 
• Hilbert was forced into execution hits on the perimeter rather than scoring in transition.  
• Ant Moynihan knocked down a deep ball at 12:08, forced a timeout and put the Hawks up 51-37 at 12:08.
• Franciscan took advantage of empty Hilbert offensive possessions by clearing the boards and scoring at the other end of the floor.
• The Barons made things interesting late in the game when their 3-point make sliced the score (68-60) and forced a Hilbert timeout with 1:08 to play.  They trapped the ball before mid court and finished the steal with a fast break lay up sneaking even closer (68-62) with less than one minute to go.
• Both team's traded points when Masia Phillips went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe and FUS converted their offensive rebound into two more points with 0:37 remaining.
• Full court pressure forced another Hilbert turnover with the hosts now inbounding under their hoop.  After several offensive rebounds, Franciscan knocked down a deep 3-pointer (70-67) with 0:22 to go.
• The host's overly aggressive full court pressure put the Hawks at the foul line twice in the span of six second but Hilbert went 0-for-4.
• Franciscan attempted several more shots on their next trip down the court, finished the possession going 1-for-2 at the foul line but earned an offensive team rebound off the deliberate second miss when hilbert tipped the ball backwards towards their bench near mid court with 0:01 seconds left.
• The Hawks broke up the long inbounds pass at the rim and held on for the win.

NOTES

• Hilbert had four players reach double figure scoring led by Alex Karamanos' 14 points.  
• The Hawks were credited with a program-low six assists (dating back to 2013-14 season) off the 29 buckets scored, were out-rebounded (41-38) but forced 17 Franciscan turnovers and collected 11 steals.
• Jon Evans led with seven rebounds, Masia Phillips with three assists and three steals.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Hawks now prepare for final exams this week but return to action Saturday, December 14 when they host Pitt.-Greensburg in a 1 pm tip.

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawk scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page.   Additionally fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from  Hilbert College Hawks iOS SideArm mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and in ITunes.