Franklin-Simpson took on University Heights in the second game of the first Saturday of the Wes Strader Schoolboy Classic at Bowling Green High School on Saturday night.
Tavin Lovan scored a game-high 38 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help the Wildcats knock off the visiting Blazers, 80-75. Along with Lovan’s stellar performance, Trey Radcliffe and Ollie Eutsey both pitched in 10-point outings.
In its loss, UHA was carried by Tray Hollowell, who scored 34 points on 13-of-21 shooting.
F-S hits the floor again on Friday night at home against South Warren. Tipoff is slated for 7:45 p.m.
Franklin-Simpson and University Heights traded baskets all throughout the opening quarter, as the Blazers held a slim 16-13 lead after eight minutes of action. Hollowell already had 10 points to lead all scorers.
The Wildcats turned themselves on in the second and went on to outscore University Heights 19-7. At the 2:40 mark of the period, Franklin had a lead of five at 26-21 and then went on to add 6 more points to its side of the scoreboard, taking a 32-23 lead into the break.
At halftime, Hollowell and the Wildcats’ Lovan had both tallied 12 points, while he had also grabbed six rebounds.
Trailing by nine, University Heights had the ball to begin the third quarter, but an early turnover led to a Lovan getaway dunk. He went on to score twice more in a roll after the slam, giving him and Franklin-Simpson a 6-0 run. The Wildcats responded with a Hollowell jumper, but the Wildcats still led by eight at 40-32 at the 4:10 mark of the period.
Jordan Johnson’s three-pointer and then Taquan Hollowell’s converted and-one cut Franklin’s lead to 46-42 with just over a minute left in the third. Jordan Bass had the opportunity to bring the Wildcats’ lead back to six, but missed a pair of free-throws, keeping the scoreboard the same.
Carlesso Doaks and Eutsey made up for Bass’ misses just before the end of the quarter, giving their Franklin-Simpson squad a 50-42 advantage entering the final quarter.
University Heights got all the way to within two at 77-75 with :23.9 left to play, but wouldn’t be able to pull ahead, as the Wildcats had enough left in the tank to hold off the Blazers’ comeback in the offense-only quarter to escape with a solid win.
–Follow Sporting Times High School Insider Tyler Mansfield on Twitter @RealTMansfield—
