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Franklin
Monroe’s Devin Fourman finds the going rough Saturday in the
Jets opening round sectional game against Southeastern. FM put up a
fight but was eliminated by the Trojans, losing 46-43. CNO Photo by
Dylan Knoop
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Jets push hard;
fall short
By George Starks
TROY- Senior Jaden Horner did his best to will Franklin Monroe to a
first round sectional victory over Southeastern. Trailing by as much as
10 points in the fourth quarter 43-33 early, Horner started to find his
stroke from beyond the three point line.
With 13.6 seconds left to play, Horner drained his second trey of the
quarter, closing the gap to a point as the Jets trailed 42-41.
That would be as close as Franklin Monroe would get, falling to the
Trojans 46-43.
“This is a tough way to lose a game,” said FM coach Marcus Bixler. “The
first thing we talked about when we came in the locker room was that I
was very proud of the effort in the third and fourth quarter. We got
after it with our pressure but you have to credit Jaden. He’s our only
senior and he willed us back into this game in the fourth quarter.”
Starting two sophomores and a freshman, Bixler admits his team was a
little short in one area.
“We just weren’t physical enough from the start,” Bixler pointed out.
“I thought they played a little more physical than we did. You can
stress it to kids that haven’t been in tournament games before as much
as you want but until you get out there and experience it, you don’t
get used to it quickly but I thought we played pretty well though.”
The Jets were never out of this one but it was a game where the Jets
never led.
“We were never out of this game,” said Bixler. “We kept getting some
good stops but the Banion kid is a 61 percent free throw shooter for
the year so we were happy to see him go to the line.”
In the end, it was Banion that put the hurt on Franklin Monroe hitting
five of seven foul shots in the game. It was a made foul shot that may
have cost the Jets in the end.
Looking at a one and one situation for Devin Fourman with 2.1
seconds showing, Fourman calmly hit the first but tried to miss the
second in hopes of getting a rebound and score for a 45-45 tie. Fourman
hit the shot, forcing the Jets to foul once more.
“We have had major problems hitting foul shots this season,” said
Bixler. “The one time we needed a missed shot and we hit it.”
Horner, in his final game, led the Jets with a dozen while Fourman
added 10.
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