If any one player embodied Franklin’s boys basketball team season opener Friday with his individual performance, Grizzly Cubs sophomore guard Reece Thompson would serve as a worthy Exhibit A.
Like the team as a whole, Thompson struggled early. Like his teammates, Thompson made all of the plays when it mattered late in Franklin’s 53-50 season-opening home win against Mid-State Conference rival Decatur Central.
Thompson played solid defense but missed his first eight field-goal attempts as the visiting Hawks built a 38-33 lead midway through the third quarter. His 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter gave the Grizzly Cubs the lead for good, and continued what became a 12-0 scoring run for Franklin.
Then, with the Cubs clinging to a 51-50 lead with 5.6 seconds remaining, Thompson sank two free throws to seal the win.
“Reece saved the night,” Franklin coach Brad Dickey said. “We all had faith in him. He made a clutch three before hitting those two free throws, and we all knew he was going to make them.”
Franklin, which graduated six seniors from last season’s 17-7 squad, fell behind 8-0 in the first three and a half minutes, but rallied quickly. They pieced together a 13-3 run over the next three minutes, but couldn’t seize the lead for good until the 12-0 spurt, which began when Blaine Wentzel put back his own missed 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cubs’ Cory Richards, who led all scorers with 15 points, scored seven of Franklin’s 12 points during that stretch. He put back his own free-throw miss and scored on a lob pass from Jacob Rockey after Thompson’s 3-pointer, then scored on a drive to the basket to complete the run, which gave the Cubs a 45-38 lead with 5:12 remaining.
Franklin’s defense, particularly its backcourt ball pressure, helped force Decatur Central (0-2) into 17 turnovers.
“We were definitely more aggressive to the basket in the first half,” Hawks coach John Ashworth said. “In the second half, we looked sloppy. We didn’t make good decisions with the ball, and we let their pressure speed us up.”
Decatur Central still had a chance late, when Kenny Tracy hit a 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds to play to cut Franklin’s lead to 51-50. The Hawks applied fullcourt pressure, and Tracy fouled Thompson while going for a steal on the inbounds play. That set up the last of Thompson’s heroics.
Rockey added 11 points for the Cubs and teamed with Richards to apply a good chunk of the defensive pressure that rattled the Hawks. Hunter Gross added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
“I hope this convinces us that we can be a good team,” Dickey said. “We’re going to go through some growing pains, but our seniors were good for us, and the younger guys want to play well for them.”
Khiree Williams led Decatur Central with 13 points.
Franklin plays again tonight at Seymour.
