The Franklin County Wildcats’ fifth win of the season came last Tuesday night in Osgood as the Cats held off Jac-Cen-Del’s Eagles by a 51-47 count.

With just over a minute left, JCD’s Italian exchange student James Pardhanini completed a 3-point play that brought the Eagles within three at 48-45. After an FC turnover, the hosts whiffed on a pair of open looks and Lane Simon committed his fifth personal foul. This sent junior Carson Allen to the line where he made it a two-possession game by sinking both. Devin Grieshop scored at the other end with 23 seconds remaining, but Allen hit 1 of 2 to ice the road win.

Jac got on the board first after a 2-minute cold spell to open the contest. Junior Brady Foster tied it up on an and-one opportunity. Simon did him one better by getting the bonus foul shot to drop for a 5-2 lead. The Eagles’ Chase Youngman kept his side clinging to the lead by scoring JCD’s next three baskets.

Blake Wagner hit a long 3 later in the frame that had the Eagles up 14-9 but senior Isaiah Kemp knotted things with a triple of his own and two via a layup. It was still even at 15 as the first quarter came to an end.

A three by senior Quinn Gillman and another Kemp bunny made it 20-15 early in the second stanza. Jac-Cen-Del made just 1 of 4 FTs in a pair of charity trips, allowing senior Landon Johnson to extend the lead to 23-16 on a 3-pointer. Johnson’s next make from beyond the arc pushed FC’s advantage to 26-18. Teammate Ezra Kolb got into the 3-point club late in the half to make it 29-18 at the break.

The visitors went on another solid run in the third, getting baskets by Gillman, Allen and Kemp to build a 37-21 lead and force a JCD timeout. Allen kept the margin at 16 with a deuce and Kemp pushed it to 42-25 on a successful 3-point play. The Eagles finally got liftoff by piecing together a 12-0 run that lasted into the fourth. Grieshop, Simon and Youngman all hit from the field. Foster put in a leaner to stop the flurry.

As the game entered its last five minutes, a 3-point combo by Grieshop and Youngman’s transition bucket had FC coach Mark Foster calling time with his Cats up 44-42. Franklin County wrestled control back with two Foster foul shots and an Allen putback.

Kemp led FC with 15 points, Allen adding 10, Foster 8 and Johnson and Gillman 6 each. Kemp and Nick Vanoven had 7 rebounds apiece.

Batesville shot out to a 15-2 lead Friday and although FC got it back to a manageable 18-10 score at halftime, the visiting Wildcats largely scuffled against the Bulldog 2-3 zone as they fell to 0-6 in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference with a 51-36 loss.

Brayden Maple and Cade Kaiser set the tone with two early buckets as the Dogs led 4-0. The Cats’ lone points of the quarter followed as Gillman found Vanoven for two. After an FC turnover, James Hughes passed to Trenten Luers to make it a 6-2 game. Before the quarter stop, Kamryn Holcomb had deposited a triple, and Kaiser sent a long pass ahead to a sprinting Maple for an 11-2 advantage.

BHS also started quarter two with four in a row, getting two Luers foul shots and Maple’s 18-footer. Then the Wildcats began finding the bottom of the net from both the foul line and the field. At 15-5, Foster gave a handoff to Allen for three and Kemp slipped along the baseline for a deuce. Hughes followed the latter with a quick three.

A deep Luers 3 kicked off a 10-0 run by the hosts when play resumed; the junior would add a runner in the lane and a trio of foul shots after being fouled on another long attempt. Vanoven stemmed the tide with a jump shot and Foster again fed Allen for three to make it 28-15. Allen’s third triple negated a Maple basket, but the Bulldogs were in control after three, ahead 32-18.

Allen made it an 11-point game with his fourth bomb of the contest. Hughes answered it with an assist from Maple. A steal by Luers netted two more and Maple completed a 3-point play for a 40-21 lead. Johnson’s second 3 of the frame and two Allen FTs had FC within 12 late as Batesville’s reserves closed out the win.

Allen’s 16 led FC as Vanoven added 7 and Johnson 6. Luers tied for game-high with 16 and Maple had 15 while Hughes posted 8.

Northeastern’s Knights came to the FC gym Saturday afternoon the losers of only one previous game and ranked in the top 10 of Indiana’s Class 2A. They showed why they deserved the ranking, displaying enough offensive firepower to win 66-45. 

NE got out to a 25-14 lead after one and went up 40-21 at halftime. The guests boosted that to a 56-30 advantage after three complete.

Allen matched the Knights’ Trey Vanlandingham and Noah Payne for game-high point honors (18). He hit 4 of 8 from the arc. NE’s Sam White added 14 and Kemp scored 11.

FC (5-11) has an 11-day break until visiting Shelbyville Feb. 5.