Men's Basketball Posts Season-High 138 Points In Defeat Against Greenville

Photo taken by Ann Schmerbauch

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team posted season-high marks in points (138), field goal percentage (66.3) and 3-point percentage (71.4), however, the Griffins fell 147-138 against Greenville.

FBU (2-8; 0-4 SLIAC) saw multiple players set new career and season-highs in points. Leading the way was Kris McCann with his career-high 34 points on 13-of-22 shooting. He also tied the single-game record with 12 assists.

Luke DeLine went 6-of-8 from downtown and 12-of-18 overall to finish with a career-high 33 points of his own. Tristan Baker went off for a season-high 20 points off the bench while Noah Coddington added a season-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Jared Woodcock was the final player in double-digits finishing with 10 points.

Greenville (5-4; 3-1 SLIAC), shot 46-of-105 (43.8 percent) from the floor on the afternoon. The team also sank 28 3-pointers and 27 free throws. Isiah Price led GU off the bench with a team-high 23 points.

Rakim Murphy contributed 20 points, while Marvin Bateman (19), Riley Simmons (17), Johari Dix (17) and Barry Nixon (14) were the final players to reach double-figures in points.

In the first half, Fontbonne jumped out in front against the face-paced offense of Greenville at 18-11 on Baker's made basket.

With 12:09 to go, Jahmad Wilburn got the ball down low and he scored his lay-up to extend the advantage out to 31-19.

Then, in less than three minutes, Greenville tied the game on Price's 3-pointer to notch it up at 34-34. The two teams went up-and-down the floor at a quick pace but the Griffins were on top 51-48 (4:32) on Baker's 3-pointer.

Greenville went on to tie it up again and pushed its lead to 61-55 with 2:27 to go on Riley Simmons' lay-up. However, the Griffins rattled off a 10-0 run over the next two minutes and 15 seconds, leading 65-61 on Woodcock's made free throw. Price netted a lay-up as the horn sounded but the Griffins still led 65-63 after one.

Fontbonne was on fire throughout the first 20:00 minutes as they shot 61.0 percent from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from downtown. DeLine led with his game-high 19 points.

The up-tempo pace continued in the second half as DeLine's 3-pointer gave FBU a 72-63 lead at 18:43. At the 14:24 mark, Baker tied the game at 83-all but on the ensuing possession Dix got his own miss and scored the put-back to put the visitor's out in front at 85-83.

From there, Greenville went on a 10-0 run expanding its lead out to 12 (95-83) on Simmons' 3-pointer with 13:03 on the clock. FBU tried to keep up with Greenville as DeLine's lay-up narrowed the deficit down to 99-90 (11:38).

The team stayed within striking distance at 113-103 after Woodcock made his lay-up at 8:27. However, for every bucket the Griffins had the Panthers answered right back as Fontbonne went on to fall by nine.

The Griffins shot an even better 71.8 percent from the floor in the second half but they couldn't overcome its 17 turnovers. DeLine, Baker and Coddington all netted at least 11 points in the second half, while McCann led with 22.

The Griffins return to the court on Monday as they'll pay a visit to Illinois Tech in a non-conference outing. Tip-off at 7 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.