FRANKLIN — Franklin boys lost 65-60 to the No. 4 state ranked Surry on Friday, despite outscoring the Cougars 17-6 in the third quarter and taking a 46-42 lead into the final period.

“I’m proud of the way the boys fought and they are starting to get basketball-ready,” said Bronco Coach Danny Dillon. “We proved tonight that we can play with the best in the

state, and we will only get better.”

Surry came out to a 21-15 first-quarter lead. Franklin kept it close in the second quarter, trailing 39-36 at the half.

In the final quarter, Surry started hitting all its shots and went on an 11-0 run.

“We lost our starting shooting guard to an injury and were still able to play with a bigger, stronger Surry,” Dillon said. “We have nine new players and we showed potential by the way we kept fighting”

Senior Justin Grant, who scored 25 points, including 14 of 20 from the line, led the Broncos. Grant led the team in rebounds with 13.

Also scoring in double digits were Jalen Vincent with 10 and Andre Foreman with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

William Lawrence led Surry with 19; Reginald Diggs added 14.

In junior varsity action, Surry won 44-41.

Broncos Keonn Cosby and Melvon Lee led Franklin with 9 points each. Franklin’s Adam Grant shot a 3 at the buzzer in hopes of forcing overtime, but missed.

It was Franklin’s first loss and Surry remains undefeated.

“I thought the fellows did good job of battling early to regain control and put us in a position to close it out down the stretch,” said JV Coach Robby Cutchins. “We made a few mistakes late, but we’ll learn from it and improve on it.”