Men's Basketball Wins Its Third Straight After Knocking Off Blackburn

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team won its third straight and fourth of its last five after defeating Blackburn, 73-56. Fontbonne goes to 8-8 overall and 4-1 in the SLIAC. Blackburn drops to 5-11 overall and 1-4 in the SLIAC.

Caden Clark led the Griffins with 14 points and dished out six assists. Will Suellentrop earned his second double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Brent Wagner added 12 points and eight boards. 

Cheikh Thiam collected his first double-double on the year with 10 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. 

In the first half, the Griffins were in control taking a 24-12 lead at the 10:44 mark. At 5:42, the Beavers trimmed the deficit to 30-21, but the Griffins closed out the half outscoring Blackburn 11-5 with Adam Painter's layup giving them the 41-26 advantage after one.

Fontbonne shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the first with Brent Wagner pacing the offense with 10 points. 

Blackburn, meanwhile, struggled to find its shooting touch going 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) and had 10 turnovers. Fontbonne was dominating the battle on the glass as well having a 21-12 advantage.

In the second half, the Griffins stretched its lead out to 49-29 on Elijah Rice's jumper with just under 15:30 on the clock. 

The Beavers tried a late rally trimming the deficit down to 61-52 with 3:54 remaining, but the Griffins closed out regulation on a 12-4 run for the 17-point win. 

Fontbonne shot just 34.5 percent from the floor in the second half, but made it count from the free throw line going 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) and outrebounding the Beavers, 27-16. 

The Griffins shot 43.5 percent from the floor and owned the glass with a 48-28 advantage over Blackburn.

Up Next

The Griffins are back at home on Saturday hosting Eureka. Tip-off at 3 p.m.

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