GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team defeated the Franciscan Barons in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game, 76-72, Saturday afternoon at Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.

Thiel opened up a quick 14-6 lead, before Franciscan responded with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 15-14 lead. Thiel would close the half with a 19-11 run to go into halftime up 33-26.

In the second half, Thiel would lead by as much as 19 points, leading 56-37 with just under 10 minutes to play. But Franciscan would cut the Tomcat lead down to just four points (68-64) with just under a minute remaining.

A pair of free-throws from Marlon Ellerbee (Temple Hills, Md./Oxon Hill) as well as a split from the line from Elijah Harden (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) helped seal the Tomcat win.

Thiel was led by Harden who notched a season-high 21 points to go along with four rebounds. Ethan Barnes (Boynton Beach, Fla./Suncoast) also recorded a season-high 19 points to go along with three boards. Barnes went 3-of-5 from three-point range. Ellerbee recorded 11 points and five rebounds, while Jonah Biggers (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) recorded six points and six rebounds.

Franciscan was led by Sawyer Butler who recorded21 points and seven assists. Derrick Derrow recorded 20 points and five rebounds, while Nicholas Allienello recorded 13 points and five boards.

The Tomcats will host the Saint Vincent Bearcats on Tuesday. The PAC game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.