FRANKLIN – There’s plenty that Dee Spencer likes about his Franklin-Simpson basketball team.

A young group is coming together at a good time in what has been a streaky season. The coach hopes that progress means the current streak lasts a little longer.

Franklin-Simpson held off anything Greenwood threw its way, using runs at the end of quarters in a 63-54 win Tuesday night in Franklin.

In all but the first quarter, Franklin-Simpson (9-7) either hit a late shot or scored on three straight possessions to kill any momentum the Gators (8-9) may have been able to mount.

“I felt like we turned up the pressure a bit,” FSHS coach Spencer said. “I thought DeMarco (Chatman) took over the game in the third quarter. It’s a simple game. If you can get stops and easy buckets, then the game comes easy.”

Not bad for a group without a senior.

The junior Chatman led all scorers with 22 points and fellow junior Tedric Partinger added 10 points. His back-to-back scores helped the Wildcats build an 11-point lead after three quarters.

“We’re growing and getting better every day,” Spencer said. “Guys are accepting their roles and it’s just fun. They love to play with each other and it makes the game easy.”

Five juniors represent the veterans on a Franklin-Simpson team that’s been up and down all season. The Wildcats have had two three-game losing streaks and a three-game winning stretch in December.

“We don’t really think about it that much,” Chatman said. “When the ball goes up in the air we just play hard. We’ve been on and off. Coach just tells us to play hard every single game, no matter who we play.”

Franklin-Simpson found a bit of separation near halftime in what was otherwise a tight first half.

Greenwood jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but it quickly became a one-possession game. Kyjuan Stutzman converted a three-point play to give the Wildcats their first lead at 15-14.

Franklin-Simpson held the ball for the final minute of the half and went up by six on Dawson Knight’s 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Wildcats shot 11-of-18 from the field in the first half to lead 30-24 at the break.

Greenwood’s Ben Carroll, who sat out most of the first half in foul trouble, opened the second half with seven points to get his team back within three, but Knight responded with another 3 and the Wildcats closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run for the first double-digit lead of the night. Franklin-Simpson made all but one shot in the third quarter.

“Offense really comes from defense and we played good defense, got easy buckets,” Chatman said.

The Gators got it down to a five-point hole with 3:30 left, but couldn’t close the deal.

Jack Roberts led Greenwood with 19 points and Carroll added 18 points.

“Never could get any kind of flow,” GHS coach Bob Pels said. “They’ve got good ballplayers and they’ve won a bunch in a row now. We put some pressure on them in the end and got it down to five, then couldn’t quite get past that. I was pleased with how the kids came back and fought.”

GHS 14 10 13 17 – 54

FSHS 12 18 18 15 – 63

GHS – Roberts 19, Carroll 18, N. Stansbury 8, Williams 7, Loggins 2

FSHS – Chatman 22, Miller 12, Partinger 10, Knight 8, Stutzman 6, Harris 4, Laconture 1

GIRLS

Greenwood 50, Franklin-Simpson 28

Greenwood locked down defensively and won its third straight by defeating Franklin-Simpson 50-28 on Tuesday.

Nicole Milam and Megan Une stepped up to lead the Lady Gators (9-8) in scoring with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Milam and Une’s scoring nights finished well above their single-digit scoring averages, a welcome sight for head coach Zach Simpson.

“We really challenged them to be scoring threats,” Simpson said. “We’ve asked them to when you get on the floor, make it where somebody has to come guard you and score. I think we’re starting to see that more as the season goes along.”

Kate Norwood’s layup was the only score four minutes into the game. Franklin-Simpson held a 6-5 edge after one quarter before the Lady Gators made a run.

Greenwood turned up the press and tied it at 10-all on Une’s three-point play. Leia Trinh turned a half-court steal into an easy layup to move Greenwood into the lead.

Carly Miller’s putback at the buzzer gave Greenwood a 19-15 lead at the break.

Free throws were all Franklin-Simpson could muster in the third quarter. Four of those shots narrowed the gap within 21-19 before Greenwood sparked a 12-0 run to seal the win.

Franklin-Simpson (3-16) made just one field goal in the second half as Greenwood pulled away.

Norwood led the Lady Wildcats with 10 points.

GHS 5 14 14 17 – 50

FSHS 6 9 6 7 – 28

GHS – Milam 14, Une 13, Miller 8, Trinh 7, Jackson 6, Keener 2.

FSHS – Norwood 10, McCutchen 6, Turner 6, Doran 4, Key 1, Johnson 1.{&end}