Griffins hang on in tense game vs. Principia despite free-throw shooting

St. Louis, Mo. - After trailing by 14 points with 8:16 to play in the first half, the Fontbonne men's basketball team overcame Principia 85-85 in a tense battle on the court. The win extends Fontbonne's record to 7-8 overall and 5-3 in SLIAC play. The loss keeps Principia winless against conference opponents.

Trailing 16-30, Fontbonne put together a six point run to trail by 10. Kody Ettinger secured a three-pointer, with a minute to go before halftime to cut Principia's lead to four, but the Panthers finished the half with a three-point conversion after a made layup and a Griffin foul with six seconds left. At halftime, Ben Kissing led the Griffins with 16 points and seven rebounds while Jared Greenlee totaled 13 points heading into the locker room. Principia's Adaku Anumu scored 18 first-half points on his way to a game-high 43.

After Principia scored the first bucket of the second half, Richard Dorhauer drained a deep three-pointer for the Griffins which was backed up when Kissing drained one of his own and sparked 12 consecutive points for Fontbonne. Greg Gentry's layup with 15:53 to play gave Fontbonne a 51-50 lead but Principia didn't back down. The Panthers led 64-58 with just under 11 minutes to play when Jeff Ross stole the ball and tried to go for the dunk but failed, sending Griffin fans to their feet. Fontbonne's 7-1 run pulled them within one of Principia and the two teams would exchange the lead for several minutes until Greenlee came up big for the Griffins. Greenlee's first tip-in of the night gave Fontbonne a 79-78 lead with 3:36 to go, which the Griffins held on to for the remainder of the contest, depite finishing the game 1-of-6 at the free-throw line.

In the middle of the game a scrum occurred with several players receiving technical fouls and ejections.  

Greenlee finished the game with 28 points and 13 rebounds, 10 of which occurred in the second half. Kissing totaled 26 points and 14 rebounds. Both players shot over 50% in the field. Gentry was too fast for Principia, totaling 11 points. Kissing's 14 rebounds is a career-high as is Greenlee's 28 points. Tonight was also Greenlee's best in rebounds this season.

The Griffins are on the road next week with games at MacMurray Wednesday and Blackburn Saturday.