After an emotional 24 hours, Cathedral held off Brebeuf for a 54-46 victory Saturday night.

Cathedral lost a heart-breaker to Center Grove Friday night. To add to the emotional drain, Cathedral had to deal with a thoughtless action carried out by the Center Grove student section that took over social media Saturday. To James Franklin’s and Cathedral’s credit, they attacked from the tip and showed no ill-effects of the trying weekend.

Franklin was excellent in the first quarter as he slashed to the basket, created for his teammates, and forced turnovers. It was a great showing from James Franklin to get Cathedral off to a quick start.

Cathedral’s defense was the story early as Brebeuf was unable to get many clean looks. The Braves were scoring less than 0.5 points per possession for most of the first half before Simon Banks connected on a three-pointer late in the half.

Brebeuf ended the first half with six straight points then opened the second with a matching run. The 12-0 run was done through a committee as no player had multiple buckets in the spurt. Banks, Max Chaplin, Jay Higgins, and Collin Wood contributed to the run.

Cathedral responded to the run behind Grant Taueg, James Franklin, and Armaan Franklin. The Irish took a one-point lead to eight in a hurry capped by a three-pointer from Justin Hensley. He was the only player that found a shooting rhythm. Hensley went 3-6 from behind the arc.

Brebeuf wasn’t going to go down without a fight. The Braves answered back behind sophomore Austin Ezell. He knocked down a three then set up Collin Wood for a layup then connected on another three-pointer to tie the game. Ezell also had a steal in the sequence.

With the game square at the start of the fourth, Isaac Farah made his presence felt. The junior center had a putback to break the tie then stole a pass on the defensive end. After a score from Armaan Franklin, Farah grabbed a defensive rebound before going to the other end and getting another offensive board. Farah’s rebounding gave Cathedral a shot in the arm.

Armaan Franklin missed a three-pointer on the opening possession of the game. He recovered to make his next three shots in the first quarter. The Indiana University signee didn’t score in the middle periods before coming up with the game-sealing plays. He had a tough driving lay-up then seconds later stole a pass and finished the play with a dunk. The Cathedral went from five to nine and out of reach in a matter of moments.

Armaan Franklin finished with 15 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three turnovers. James Franklin and Justin Hensley finished with 11 points each. Tayshawn Comer and Grant Taueg each had seven points. Isaac Farah tallied four points and six rebounds.

Simon Banks led Brebeuf with 15 points. Austin Ezell had eight points. Jay Higgins scored seven.