Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania men's basketball team's drive to repeat as conference tournament champions was denied by the Franklin College Grizzlies, who defeated the Pioneers, 74-53 in the 2021 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game on Wednesday evening at the Beck Center.
Appearing in the HCAC Championship game for the second straight season, the Pioneers sought to close out an unconventional season with back-to-back conference tournament championships but were stifled inside by the upstart Grizzlies, who claimed the title with steady interior play.
Transylvania's encore season as conference regular-season and tournament champions ended at 8-9 overall, 8-4 against non-Division I opponents, and 8-4 against HCAC opponents including postseason play. Franklin completed its campaign with a win to finish 9-6 overall.
Hosting the championship game for the second consecutive game after being awarded the tournament number two seed in a blind draw, the Pioneers faced off against the number five seeded Grizzlies on Wednesday for the first time in the 2021 season after their two regular-season games were canceled.
Franklin worked its way to a strong start with a steady dose of inside and outside shooting, hitting 49 percent from the field in the first half and making 4 of 13 three-point attempts. The Pioneers manifested an array of inside drives but struggled to convert, shooting 25 percent from the field and making 2 of 9 triples in the opening half.
Trailing by 14 at halftime, the Pioneers made a series of runs in the second half as they tried to complete the comeback against the Grizzlies. Lucas Gentry struck inside on a three-point play with 15:26 left in the second half to slice the Franklin lead in half at 39-32, four and a half minutes into the second half. The Grizzlies countered each Transylvania run with a timely three-pointer and efficient inside scoring as their lead grew back to double figures.
Zach Larimore led one last stand for the Pioneers, scoring seven straight points for the home team to cut Franklin's lead to 54-47 with five and a half minutes left in regulation. The Pioneers began to press the Grizzlies and found success, forcing a collection of turnovers as the game headed down the stretch, but HCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Mat Krause struck back with a critical four-point play at the 5:13 mark to steady the Grizzlies.
Krause's key play ignited a 13-0 Franklin run that sealed the championship for Franklin.
Michael Jefferson led Transylvania in his final career game as a Pioneer with 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Gentry's final collegiate game consisted of 13 points and two rebounds. Larimore was the other double-digit scorer for Transy with 11 points, and added five rebounds. Seniors Dominique Turner and Gavin Root had seven and three points, respectively, while Will Anderson added a rebound in his final game for the Pioneers.
Jefferson and Gentry were each named to the 2021 HCAC All-Tournament Team for their high-level performances throughout the HCAC Tournament.
The March 10th championship game rounded out a unique year for the Transylvania men's basketball team and the collegiate basketball landscape as a whole, one day short of the one-year anniversary of the instant halting of sports nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After enduring delays to the start of the season, the Pioneers began their 2020-21 season against five Division I teams from the state of Kentucky in December and played a condensed 10-game regular-season schedule versus a collection of HCAC foes, eventually earning their way back to a second consecutive HCAC Championship appearance.
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