Principia Pulls Away From Fontbonne Late In The Second Half

ELSAH, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team had four players reach double-digits in points against Principia on Saturday, however, the Panthers held on for the 83-78 victory.

The Griffins (3-12; 1-7 SLIAC), shot 43.3 percent from the floor, out-rebounded the Panthers 34-30 and went 22-of-30 from the charity-stripe. Jared Woodcock led Fontbonne with his season-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Erich Schark shined on both ends of the floor as he recorded his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Kris McCann added a few late lay-ups to finish with 16 points and five assists, while Tristian Baker went a perfect 8-of-8 from the line to conclude with 13 points.

Principia (6-8; 5-3 SLIAC), connected on 55.6 percent of its attempts from the floor. Trevaughn Goodman and Micah Paulson each led with a game-high 23 points. Park Davidson sank 8-of-11 to conclude with 17 points and team-high eight rebounds. Payton Sellers was the final player to reach double-figures with 11 points.

It was a slow start for both teams out of the gate, but the Griffins led 8-4 at the 14:38 mark on Schark's lay-up. They stretched it out to 10-4, though the Panthers went on a 9-0 run to take a 13-10 lead on Paulson's bucket at 9:38.

The two teams went back-and-forth as the clock continued to tick away and they went on to meet-up at 21-21 with 4:26 to go. At 2:05, Baker tied it at 28-28 on a 3-pointer, however, Paulson came down the court and sank a 3-pointer of his own to give Principia a 31-28 advantage after one.

Despite shooting 29.6 percent in the first 20:00 minutes, the Griffins were right there with the Panthers, who shot 44.8 percent from the field.

It was a different story for both offenses in the second half. The Griffins shot 54.5 percent and out-rebounded Principia 12-9. The Panthers, though shot 68.0 percent from the floor, went 5-of-7 from downtown and went 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) from the free throw line.

McCann's lay-up at 12:37 put Fontbonne down just 45-43. The Panthers went on to put some distance between themselves and the Griffins by going on an 8-0 run to lead by 10 (53-43).

With 5:44 left in regulation, the Panthers seemed to be in control leading 68-57. Fontbonne chipped away at the deficit over the next minute as they went on a 7-0 run to make it a 68-64 outing.

Principia built its lead back up to double-digits on  Sellers 3-pointer at 2:16 to give them a 76-66 lead. Fontbonne tried for one last run, but the Panthers hit the free throws when they counted and held on for the five-point win.

The Griffins look to bounce back in front of the home crowd on Wednesday night when they'll host Eureka. Tip-off at 8 p.m.

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