KingCo 4A Boys | Franklin has enough against Roosevelt

Within 16 seconds of each other, star guards Glen Dean and Peyton Siva took their seats on the bench after their fifth fouls. Roosevelt and Franklin would have to finish the last three-plus minutes of this all-important KingCo 4A Conference game without them.

Dean soon had company. In those last three minutes, three more Roosevelt players fouled out, left to watch Franklin's supporting cast finish off a 77-67 victory that as the Quakers remained the only team unbeaten in KingCo 4A play.

"Right now, to be honest, our role players are the key to us finding a way to win," Franklin coach Jason Kerr said.

Roosevelt's Dean, a senior Portland State recruit, led all scorers with 24 points, but he fouled out with 3 minutes, 44 seconds left. Siva, who scored 13, followed him 16 seconds later.

The Quakers, ranked second in Class 4A, were lucky to have their leading scorer at all.

About 12 hours after Franklin (14-2 overall, 10-0 KingCo) edged Fairfax, Calif., on Monday, Siva woke with an awful stomach virus. He said he threw up most of the day, including before the game and at halftime and that often, he had to hold it back on the court.

"It was gross," Siva said.

As they heard him from the bathroom before the game, Kerr remembered a night Siva was that sick and scored 37 points. Kerr turned to the team and said, "I think we're going to get a win tonight."

"When he gets that motivation, that gets him focused," Kerr said, "that's when he becomes a little more dangerous."

In front of a near-capacity crowd at Roosevelt, Siva sat out less than a minute of the first half and helped Franklin take an early 34-25 lead. But in the half's final two minutes, Roosevelt, ranked third, came back to tie it at 35.

Franklin took the lead less than a minute into the third quarter and never gave it back. The Quakers never led by more than 10, but Roosevelt (12-3, 8-1) didn't get closer than five in the fourth. Franklin made 13 of 19 fourth-quarter free throws. Five Franklin players scored at least 11, led by Chris Holmes' 18. The Quakers had 48 rebounds, Roosevelt 37.

"You can't beat Franklin if you can't keep them off the glass and off the foul line," Roosevelt coach Bart Brandenburg said.