On to the Western Finals and rematch with Girard

In a moment that was four years in the making, Franklin boys basketball defeated Deer Lakes 83-66 for a spot in the western finals of the PIAA Class 3A state playoffs. 

"First two years... we struggled to even win a state playoff game. Last year, we finally got a taste of it. This year, we are building on that," game standout Cole Buckley said following Franklin's dominating victory. The senior led the Knights with 24 points. ​

It was fellow senior Dreyden Payne who got things started for the Knights Saturday afternoon at Sharon High School. He scored on a layup about a minute into the game, which featured a hurried pace from the first whistle. Damon Curry added a layup of his own about 90 seconds later. Deer Lakes answered, but then Payne responded with his second layup of the game, and Franklin set the standard for the constant. 

Anytime the Lancers would build momentum, the Knights would calm them down with a quick response.
Like a well-oiled machine, Franklin's quick passes around the perimeter and ball movement opened many scoring opportunities underneath or open threes.

With 1:35 left in the first quarter, every single starter had logged at least one basket and Franklin was up 16-8.  

In the closing seconds of the stanza, Will Findlan demonstrated why is he Franklin's dark horse, hitting the first of five shots he would make on the day while recording quality minutes.  

The Knights took a 20-10 lead into the second quarter but started to struggle with foul trouble. In less than two minutes of play, Deer Lakes was already in bonus terrority and Curry had to take a seat with two fouls already on the books. 

Thanks to a pair of three-pointers from the corner, the Lancers pulled within seven with 3:16 to go in the half. Then the Knight's aggressive defense fueled by Jalen Wood opened opportunities for Buckley's end of the half tear where the senior scored seven of Franklin's 11 final  points before heading into the locker room with a 39-24 lead.

Buckley  immediately went back to work at the start the second half, scoring another seven points to Deer Lakes two. 

The Knights dominated the third quarter going up 60-32 with a little less than three minutes left leading the Lancers to start playing with level of desperation.

Franklin tried to answer by slowing things down. 

"(We) tried to pull the reins back, tried to play smart, understand the score. We don't need quick shots," Franklin coach Jason Fulmer said of the strategy for the closing quarter.

This opened the window a little for Deer Lakes to chip away at the 23-point lead, but not nearly enough to make it close. In the final quarter, the Lancers outscored the Knights 25-17. 

"We know what we are capable of and that is what we are capable of," Buckley said of his team's 83-66 victory and the balanced manner in which it was achieved. "We have five guys who could drop 20 any night." 

Saturday, Buckley was the guy, followed closely behind by Curry with 17, Wood with 16, Damarco Payne and Findlan with 10 each and Dreyden Payne with 6.

"We were just hitting from everywhere," Findlan said when asked about his assessment of the game. 

Fulmer pointed toward Findlan as a major impact on the game, for his rebounding as well as his offensive contributions. "That's how I had pictured him," Fulmer said of his pre-season challenge to Findlan to be the team's guy off the bench. 

Fulmer also praised Buckley and the team's overall improvement in attacking the basketball and creating opportunities. 

"When we are attacking, we are our best," he said. And when Buckley gets into attack mode then "everything happens."

"My emotions were just pouring at the end. I couldn't hold it in. We're just so happy to be here," Wood said about finally getting into the final four. "We have been working so hard for these last four years to finally get over the hump, now we are just hungry for more now that we got here."

"We just want to get to the state championship," Buckley said. "That's all we got our minds on."

First, they have to swat down their NW PA rivals the Girard Yellow Jackets, who beat Franklin 60-50 in the District 10 championship game earlier this month. Girard beat Mowak 70-50 to earn their spot in the final four alongside Franklin. That game will be played Tuesday at a time and place to be determined.