Franklin Regional keeps Kiski Area in check, leans on Rowell in 4th to pull out win

By: Michael Love
Friday, January 6, 2023 | 10:09 PM

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Franklin Regional boys basketball coach Jesse Reed said Friday’s Section 3-5A home contest with Kiski Area wasn’t the prettiest of performances from his team, but he was pleased the Panthers were able to produce a 43-36 victory over the Cavaliers.

“You have to win ugly sometimes,” Reed said. “Our guys didn’t have a great first half, but they came out in the second half rejuvenated and found a way to get it done at the end. I am so proud of them for the way they fought.”

Franklin Regional’s 43 points were 14 under its season average of 57.3. The Panthers upped their record to 8-3 overall with their third straight win, and they improved to 2-0 in the section.

They next will hit the road for back-to-back section games against Latrobe (Tuesday) and Gateway (Jan. 13).

Kiski Area fell to 5-7 overall and 1-1 in the section and saw its two-game win streak snapped. The Cavaliers were well under their 63.2-point season average.

“First of all, that is a really well-coached team over there,” Kiski Area coach Corey Smith said. “Jesse Reed knows what he is doing. They were prepared. They kind of played off of the guys who don’t normally shoot, and they got tight on our shooters.

“It just didn’t work out tonight for us, but there’s always the second half of the season, and they have to come to our place.”

Franklin Regional will visit Kiski Area on Jan. 31.

“Any time you can get a section win, that is huge,” Reed said. “Every next game in the section is the biggest game of the season because anybody in the section can beat anybody else. It is that competitive.”

The Cavaliers led by three at halftime, but they were not able to extend their advantage. Senior 6-foot-8 forward Max Leven, who pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, and Colin Masten hit consecutive field goals at the end of the third quarter to give the Panthers a 24-22 lead.

Then Cam Rowell took over.

He scored the first six points of the fourth quarter on a jumper and four free throws. He tallied Franklin Regional’s first 10 points of the fourth to lift his team to a 34-29 lead with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left.

Cooper Rankin followed with a 3-pointer 20 seconds later to extend the Panthers’ advantage to eight.

Kiski Area’s Jason Flemm went to the line for a pair of free throws with 1:17 left and his team down by four, but he was not able to convert either shot.

From there, Franklin Regional scored the next five points on a pair of free throws from Rankin, a layup from Rowell and a single free throw from Jake Kimmich to put the game on ice.

The Panthers were 8 of 10 from the line in the fourth quarter. Rowell tallied 16 points in the second half and finished with a game-best 22.

“Cam was such a huge difference maker for us,” Reed said. “We’re pretty much dead even through the first three quarters, and then he comes through with some big plays on the defensive end to get some steals. He comes down aggressively and converts some layups and then hits his free throws. It changed our whole game. He battled through some woes early on and found his way by the end of it.”

Points were at a premium in the first quarter with a combination of missed shots and strong defense from both teams contributing to a 6-3 Kiski Area lead after the first eight minutes.

A jumper from Isaiah Gonzalez, a layup from Owen Pearson and a 3-pointer from Dom Dininno gave the Cavaliers their largest lead of the second quarter at 13-7 with 4:36 to go until the break.

Franklin Regional used a pair of layups from Rowell, the second one coming with just under one minute on the clock, as the Panthers closed to within 14-11 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Rowell scored six of his team’s eight points in the second quarter.

Gonzalez led Kiski Area with 19 after scoring 28 Tuesday in the Cavaliers’ win over Latrobe. He scored 14 of his 19 in the second half. Dininno finished 10 points in the loss.

“Kiski’s always going to battle, but I think it came down to the guys playing a little tight at times,” Smith said. “We just couldn’t get in the flow of our offense tonight. But we know we have to come ready to play every night.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Kiski Area