Box Score RICHMOND, Ind. — A four-minute stretch in the second half proved to be the difference as the Earlham College men's basketball team fell 76-64 to Franklin College Saturday afternoon on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center.

The Quakers led 35-33 with 16:04 remaining in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest before the Grizzlies scored 12 straight points to take a 45-35 lead at the 12:24 mark.

From that point, Franklin widened its margin to 15 points before the Quakers rallied to close the gap. Later in the period, a pair of free throws by Colton Bragg (Richmond, IN, Richmond) made it 62-55 with 4:32 left to play, but that was as close as the Quakers could get.

Bragg led the Quakers with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Ryan Taylor (Martinsville, IN, Martinsville) added 14 points, while Dustin Rusk (Frankfort, IN, Clinton Prairie) tossed in 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Quakers took an early lead in the first half when Bragg made it 4-2 with a pair of baskets to begin the game.

Franklin (4-4, 2-1) was able to respond a go on top 12-4 with 15:16 left in the opening period.

Earlham was able to stay close and when Rusk drilled a 3-pointer at the 5:56 mark, the Quakers led 22-21.

The contest was tied two more times before Bragg's 3-pointer with 1:06 left in the first half was the last score of the stanza as the Quakers led 29-26 at intermission.

In the second half, Rusk scored the first basket of the period to give Earlham a 31-26 margin.

The contest stayed tight over the next few minutes and when Marcus Bledsoe (Indianapolis, IN, Ritter) gave the Quakers a 35-33 lead when scored at the 16:08 mark to set the stage for Franklin's run.

Earlham (0-9, 0-3) are back on the court next Saturday at Anderson University. The HCAC affair gets underway at 3 p.m.

Box Score