Men's Basketball Falls In Overtime Against Eureka

EUREKA, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team suffered a tough 84-75 overtime loss against Eureka on Saturday.

The Griffins had three players in double-figures led by Cheikh Thiam with a season-high 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Caden Clark finished with 12 points, while Brent Wagner added 11.

In the first half, the Red Devils jumped out to a 19-13 lead on Noah Persich's 3-pointer. Later, the Griffins trailed 24-22 at the 7:08 mark on Clark's layup.

However, the Red Devils went on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes taking a commanding 36-24 lead. Fontbonne kept battling getting the deficit down to 38-31, but the Red Devils got a 3-point play from Logan Dorethy giving them a 41-31 advantage at the break.

Fontbonne shot 40.0 percent in the first half with Clark pacing the way with seven points. The Red Devils shot 45.5 percent and were led by Dorethy with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

In the second half, the Red Devils remained in control leading 52-38 with 14:17 left. Fontbonne started to chip away and its hard work paid off outscoring the Red Devils 27-12 over the next 11:00 minutes to take a 65-64 lead on Thiam's dunk.

The two teams flip flopped on lead changes but were tied 68-68 with 1:18 remaining after Clark went 1-of-2 from the line.

Eureka grabbed a 70-68 lead with 18.0 seconds left after PeeWee Brown connected on both free throws. However, the Griffins responded with Clark hitting his jumper on the ensuing possession to tie the game.

The Red Devils had one last chance to win it at the buzzer but its attempt missed and it was off to overtime.

In overtime, the Red Devils outscored Fontbonne 8-2 in the first two minutes and 45 seconds. From there, the Red Devils held onto its lead going on for the nine-point win.

Fontbonne finished shooting 39.0 percent from the floor. The team struggled from three going 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) and from the free throw line at 42.1 percent.

Up Next

The Griffins close out its road trip next Wednesday when they'll visit Westminster. 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).