Men's Basketball Battles Back To Earn Overtime Win Over Greenville

GREENVILLE, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team trailed by six in overtime against Greenville, however, the Griffins closed out the game on a 13-5 run for the 117-114 win. Fontbonne improves to 7-8 overall and 3-1 in the SLIAC. Greenville falls to 1-14 and 0-4 in SLIAC play.

Fontbonne had five players in double-figures led by Elijah Rice with a season-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Adam Painter recorded his first double-double with a season-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. 

Caden Clark finished with 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while Ethan Chatrand had 16 points. Jaden Betton was the final player in double-figures with 12 points. 

After Greenville grabbed the early advantage, the Griffins took a 15-14 lead on Painter's layup at the 14:33 mark.

Later, the Panthers trailed 25-22 with 11:14 remaining but the Griffins blew the game wide open over the next five minutes going on a 20-5 run pushing its advantage out to 45-27.

They held that double-digit advantage the rest of the way going into the locker room on top, 61-45. Fontbonne shot 52.1 percent from the field in the first and already outrebounded Greenville 34-21 on the glass. Rice led with 15 points, while Chatrand contributed 12. 

In the second half, the Griffins continued to hold onto its marginal lead with them on top 90-84 with 7:22 on the clock. 

Greenville went on a 9-2 run in two minutes to lead 93-92 on Kaidyn Johnson's 3-pointer. Fontbonne got the lead back and tried to gain some breathing room at 96-93 with 3:23 remaining on Rice's layup. 

The Panthers, though went on a 7-0 run taking a 100-96 lead with 2:01 left. After Fontbonne tied it, the Panthers retook a 102-100 lead with 56.0 seconds left in regulation.

Painter came through 14.0 seconds later getting fouled and knocking down both free throws to tie the game. Fontbonne had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but to no avail and it was off to overtime.

In overtime, the Panthers jumped out to a 109-103 led with 3:32 left. It was all Fontbonne the rest of the way going on an 11-0 run to go on for the three-point win. 

Fontbonne shot 47.9 percent from the floor and hit a season-high 23 free throws. On the glass, the Griffins pulled down a season-high 72 rebounds. Fontbonne outrebounded Greenville 72-49. The Griffins also dominated in the paint with an 86-32 advantage. 

Up Next

The Griffins are back at home on Wednesday when they'll host Blackburn. Tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Make sure to follow men's basketball on all its social media accounts: Twitter (@FBUBasketball), Instagram (@fbubasketball) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).