After more than 19 minutes of give and take between the Route 8 rivals, Franklin's Dreyden Payne connected on a mid-air adjustment shot under the basket and was fouled allowing him to get an old-fashioned three. With it, the Knights took the lead for good and eventually sole possession of first place in Region 6 as they defeated Oil City 51-40.
Early in the game, Oil City seemed to be in the driver's seat - hitting pivotal shots and controlling Franklin's normal offensive attack with aggressive defense and shutting down star player Jalen Wood and Cole Buckley. By the 6:55 mark in the second, the Oilers had ground out a 14-7 lead in the House of Hustle.
The Knights fought back to cut it down to three before Sayyid Donald hit a bucket at 4:51. Down by five and stymied on offensive, Wood stepped back deep in three territory, hit his first basket of the night and ignited a 10-point run.
Donald connected for the final points of the half, but Franklin still headed into the locker room with a 21-19 lead.
After a few more minutes of back-and-forth play to open the second half, Payne buried a shot under the basket and followed it with a plus one. It was 28-27.
Franklin was in control and never let it go. Their balanced offensive abilities took over as five different players contributed points in the closing 10 minutes of play.
With a little over a minute left on the clock, the Oilers were down by six and attempted a three-pointer. It bounced high off the rim and Franklin's Cole Buckley leapt to snag the rebound. That sealed the deal for the Knights. Franklin scored five more points, all foul shots, to walk away with the 51-40 win.
Donald had a game-high 20 points for Oil City. Wood was Franklin's top scorer with 18.
Franklin improves to 5-0 in the region and 13-4 overall. The Knights host Warren on Friday to start the second round of region games.
Oil City drops to 4-1 in the region and 13-4 on the season. The Oilers host Titusville Friday.
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