Basketball Recap: Jayce Nielson's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Franklin Community over Columbus North

Franklin Community lost against Columbus North back in February of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. The Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs fell just short of the Columbus North Bull Dogs by a score of 54-52. While losing is never fun, the Grizzly Cubs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while the Bull Dogs are ranked 20th).

Franklin Community lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Jayce Nielson, who went 5-for-8 to rack up 11 points and six assists. Another player making a difference was Tony Barnes, who posted 11 points and five rebounds.

Nathan Enneking had an outrageously good game for Columbus North as he shot 45% from the field on his way to 15 points in addition to six assists and three steals. That's the most assists Enneking has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Austin Perry, who had 12 points and eight boards.

This is the second loss in a row for Franklin Community and nudges their season record down to 7-13. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points over those games. As for Columbus North, they are on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-3 record this season.

Franklin Community wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 73-72 win against Jennings County on the 28th. As for Columbus North, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 53-41 victory against Center Grove on the 27th.