Panther men’s hoops are the leaders of the Mountain Seven Conference.
On the week of Jan. 8, Doug Plemmons’ team faced two more conference games, traveling to North Henderson and hosting Smoky Mountain. With wins in both contests, Franklin improved to 4-1 in the conference, setting up a showdown at 3-1 West Henderson Jan. 16.
On Wednesday, Jan. 10, the team traveled to North Henderson for a clash with the 12-2 Knights. Sitting at first place in the conference with a 3-0 record, North provided a difficult test for the Panthers.
The home team lived up to their billing in the first, scoring 14 of the game’s first 19 points. Franklin’s defense soon tightened up however, ending the quarter down 16-12.
The second quarter looked much like the first, with a strong early run from North followed by a late Panther surge. Junior guard Braylen Dezarn scored seven straight points to help end the half down 32-24.
Franklin’s offense turned red-hot in the third, mounting an impressive 20-2 run including six points from Dezarn. North’s shooters remained ice-cold throughout, ending the quarter down 47-37 after a beautiful off-balance 3-pointer by Dezarn to beat the buzzer.
The Panthers stayed sharp into the fourth, turning 3-pointers from Will Rauers and Max McClure into a 53-39 lead. Addix Sutton added two assists and a steal to help cement the win, 70-58.
Two nights later, the team returned to Tom Raby Court to host Smoky Mountain, who at 4-11 overall were still seeking their first conference win. There, senior Reed Raby led Franklin to a 10-2 early lead, sinking a 3-pointer and taking multiple hard charges in the opening minutes. But despite six more points and a steal from Rauers, Smoky regrouped to end the period down just 14-13.
Franklin retook momentum in the second, out-rebounding the Mustangs on both ends of the floor. McClure made the most of the extra possessions, racking up 15 points and a steal to end the half up 41-22.
Franklin pressed their advantage in the third, getting eight points including two 3-pointers and two steals from Dezarn. Senior center Jacob Gibson helped Franklin keep dominating the boards, adding four points and a steal to end the quarter up 60-30.
Smoky kicked back into gear to start the fourth, scoring the quarter’s first 11 points to cut their deficit. Rauers ultimately held the Mustangs off however, scoring 11 points of his own to ice a 78-59 win.