Men's Basketball Are Off To The NCAA Tournament For First Time Since 2009

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—For the first time since 2009, the Fontbonne University men's basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Webster in the SLIAC Championship, 55-49.

Brent Wagner led the way for the Griffins with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Will Suellentrop was the final player in double-figures with 11. Cheikh Thiam finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

In the first half, the Gorloks led 16-6 at the 11:39 mark on Wynne Brown Jr's., layup. Fontbonne started to find its rhythm offensively over the next six minutes trailing 24-19 after Jaden Betton made his layup.

Later, the Griffins were down 26-23 with 3:26 remaining, but the Gorloks closed out the half on a 7-0 run leading 33-23 after one.

Fontbonne shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the first led by Ethan Chartrand with seven points off the bench. The Gorloks, meanwhile, shot 43.2 percent with Brown Jr., and Markus Becton having 11 and 10, respectively.

In the second half, the Griffins outscored Webster 12-2 in the first two minutes and 45 seconds as Wagner's three-pointer tied it up, 35-35.

Webster regained the lead and with 8:30 remaining the Gorloks were on top, 49-44. However, that'd be its final bucket of the game with Fontbonne closing out on a 11-0 run going on for the six-point victory.

The Griffins finished the game shooting 34.3 percent from the field, while Webster ended at 36.5 percent. Webster held a 46-40 rebounding advantage on the glass.

Up Next

The Griffins will now find out on Monday at 12 p.m., CT where they'll be headed for the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament. Fans can watch where they're headed on NCAA.com. 

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