Despite Its Second Half Comeback, The Griffins Fall In Final Minutes Against Tech

CHICAGO, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team outscored Illinois Tech 44-35 in the second half, however the Scarlet Hawks spoiled the Griffins efforts coming away with a 74-71 win.

After taking the lead midway through the second half and batting the rest of the way, the Griffins had the chance to come away with a momentum building win.  

With 1:55 to go left in regulation, Luke DeLine tied the game at 70-70 as he made the lay-up and was fouled on the play. He went on to cash in the free throw to give FBU a 71-70 lead.

That'd be the final points they'd score, though as Tech closed out on a 4-0 run, capped off by Malik Howze's free throws to win by three.

After shooting 33.3 percent in the first half, the Griffins exploded in the second half knocking in 48.6 percent of its attempts, finishing with a 41.5 field goal percentage.

Kris McCann was a big part of the success in the second half going 6-of-10 from the floor to finish with 16 points and end with a game-high 23.

DeLine, meanwhile, netted 14 of his own to conclude with 16 points. Erich Schark and Jared Woodcock totaled 12 points each.

Tech (7-3), shot 47.5 percent from the floor but had its struggles from the line going 13-of-22. The Scarlet Hawks took care of the paint outscoring the Griffins 44-32 and owned a rebounding advantage of 45-30.

Max Hisatake and Jake Digiorgio proved to be quiet the duo for Tech. Hisatake scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed down 12 boards, while Digiorgio had 16 points and game-high 14 rebounds.

Anthony Mosley Jr., went 7-of-11 from the field to conclude with 18 points. Howze was the final player in double-figures with 12.

At the 13:44 mark of the first half, the Griffins took a 12-11 lead on McCann's lay-up. Tech took the lead back on the ensuing possession but Woodcock's made 3-pointer cut the deficit down to 24-21 (7:22).

Over the next four minutes, the Scarlet Hawks went on a 9-0 run as Mosley Jr's., dunk gave them a 33-21 lead, its largest of the game. Tech went on to maintain its double-digit lead the rest of the way and headed into the break on top, 39-27.

In the second half, the Griffins offense got going and continued to chip away. Down 54-51 with 11:54 to go in regulation, the Griffins went on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 60-54 lead.

From there, the two teams had an answer for each bucket. After taking the lead at 71-70, though the Griffins went 0-of-4 from the floor and eventually dropped a heartbreaker by three.

The Griffins can still come away with a lot of positives to carry on over into the second half of the season which will begin on the road against Westminster. Game-time is scheduled for 8 p.m., on January 3^rd.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's basketball team.