By Jim Hunter
January 7, 2009 — FRANKLIN — The Bulldogs are a pretty good team for the first three quarters.
The fourth quarter? A different story.
For the third time this season, Meadville faltered down the stretch as long-time nemesis Franklin outscored the ’Dogs, 14-6 in the final stanza for a 69-62 victory Tuesday night in Region 5 action.
Earlier in the season against Reynolds and last week versus Erie East in the Sertoma Club Holiday Tournament championship game, the MASH unit allowed fourth-quarter leads slip away.
The “L” to Franklin was more painful as it appeared on several occasions the hungry-eyed Bulldogs were finally going to snap their long losing streak against the Knights.
n Battling back from an 8-0 deficit, the ’Dogs overtook Franklin, 15-14 as sophomore guard Ray Hamilton scored 10 points on two 3-pointers and two medium-range jumpers.
n In the second quarter, senior forward Rob Shartle — who made his first career varsity start — delivered a textbook bounce pass to junior Adam Barba for a layup and senior Toney Phillips scored on an offensive rebound to give the Bulldogs a 26-24 lead with 4:51 remaining on the clock.
n Barba was unstoppable in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
After scoring on an inside move and an offensive rebound to open the stanza, Barba scored on a nifty low-block spin move midway through the quarter to give the Bulldogs a 46-42 lead — their biggest in the game.
Long-distance shooting fireworks then followed.
Meadville’s sophomore sharp-shooter Josh Gregor bombed in two consecutive 3-pointers, but Franklin’s Isiah Jordan also nailed two treys and teammate Eric Caffrey also dialed long distance as the Knights closed to wthin 52-51 with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter.
In the closing seconds of the third period, Hamilton went one-on-one and scored on a drive to give MASH a 56-55 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter ... the Bulldogs’ demise this season.
After Ben Peterson scored in the low post, Caffrey — off consecutive turnovers by Meadville — popped in two eight-foot jumpers to give Franklin a 61-56 lead with 5:32 left in the game.
Grabbing his own missed shot, Barba scored to cut FHS’s lead to 61-59, but the Knights responded with a 7-0 run in a three-minute span to give them a 68-59 lead with :57 left in the game.
Senior forward Bryan Smith was the scoring force with five points.
Once again, another disheartening loss for the MASH unit.
’Dog Bones: Meadville’s scoring was well-balanced as four Bulldogs hit double figures — Hamilton (20), Barba (14), Phillips (13) and Gregor (10) ... The Bulldogs shot the ball well — hitting 51 percent of their shots, 26-for-51 (2-for-9 in the fourth quarter) ... Barba had another solid all-around game with nine rebounds and three blocked shots ... Franklin also had four players in double digits — Caffrey, Smith and Tim Maleski with 13 apiece and Jordan netted 10.
