Men's Basketball Drops A Tough SLIAC Opener Against Spalding

ST. LOUIS, Mo.— The Fontbonne University men's basketball team finished with a better field goal, 3-point and free throw percentage against Spalding on Wednesday night, however, the Golden Eagles came away with a 82-76 win.

Fontbonne (1-4; 0-1 SLIAC), shot 50.0 percent from the floor for the second straight game, drained a season-high 57.1 percent of its shots from downtown and went 18-of-24 (75.0 percent) from the charity-stripe.

Individually, Kris McCann tied his season-high with 19 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Jared Woodcock netted a season-high 17 of the bench, including going 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while Luke DeLine followed up his double-double with 14 points and seven boards. Thomas Ritter, meanwhile, was the final player to reach double-digits with 11 points.

Spalding (2-4; 1-0 SLIAC), shot 46.8 percent from the field and were paced by Brandon Williams' double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds. The duo of Dominique Ellis and Rylan Rowe added 14 each, while Robert Benningfield and Cornelius Watts finished with 12 and 11 points respectively.

In the first half, the Griffins started out with an 11-3 lead at the 14:28 mark on James Wiggins' two made free throws. Later, with 5:21 on the clock, McCann made his lay-up to extend the advantage out to 32-23.

The Golden Eagles, however, crawled right back into it as Watts' made jumper cut the deficit down to 32-27 (4:31). FBU kept its composure though, closing out the half out-scoring SU 7-6 to head into the locker room on top, 39-33.

Fontbonne shot 56.5 percent from the field and went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. DeLine and Woodcock led with 10 points each.

In the second half, Spalding kept clawing its way back into it and its effort paid off at 15:18 as Brendan Holt grabbed down the offensive board and scored the put-back, tying the game 47-47.

FBU got the lead back on Woodcock's made 3-poniter less than a minute later. The Griffins maintained its marginal lead up until Brandon Williams made free throws gave Spalding a 57-56 (9:58) lead.

The Golden Eagles used the momentum they gained and expanded its lead out to 69-59 with 4:52 to go on Watts' made lay-up. The Griffins got the lead down to eight (75-64) at the 2:21 mark, but the comeback attempt was not to be as the Golden Eagles went on for the 82-76 win.

Fontbonne will look to bounce back at home on Saturday against Blackburn. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's basketball team.