Men's Basketball Erases 21-Point Deficit But Fall In Overtime Against Beavers

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—Despite erasing a 21-point second half deficit in just eight minutes time, the Fontbonne University men's basketball team dropped a tough 108-105 (OT) contest against Blackburn in its home opener on Saturday.

Final: Blackburn 108, Fontbonne 105

Location: DSAC

Records: Blackburn (2-4; 1-1 SLIAC), Fontbonne (3-4; 1-1 SLIAC)

How It Happened

In the first half, a bucket from Javon Stovall tied it up at 16-16 at the 14:01 mark. The Griffins, though regained the lead three minutes later on Jalen Wadlington's old-fashioned 3-point play.

Blackburn went on to regain the lead but the Griffins clawed its way back in it with Wadlington again earning the 3-point play at the 5:06 mark to tie it up at 36-36. The Beavers continued its hot-shooting until half as they closed out the final five minutes on a 21-8 run to lead by 13 (57-44).

The Beavers were on fire from all over the floor with the team shooting 63.3 percent from the floor and connected on 12 3-pointers on 18 attempts. Fontbonne, meanwhile, shot 41.5 percent and went 8-of-9 from the line, but went just 2-of-13 from downtown. Bryson Kirby led all scorers with 15 points.

In the second half, with 10:21 remaining, a layup from Nigel Ferrell gave the Beavers what they thought was a comfortable 80-59 lead.

As the clock continued to tick away, so did the Beavers advantage. In just under eight minutes time, the Griffins went on a 27-6 run as Sean McGee's layup tied it up at 86-86. After Anthony Jones went 1-of-2 from the line, the Griffins led 87-86 with 1:50 to go.

With nine seconds left, Cody McKinney made both of his free throws to put Fontbonne on top, 92-88. The Beavers quickly answered with a layup to trail by two but with six seconds left, the Griffins led 93-90 on Caden Clark going 1-of-2 from the line.

After a timeout by Fontbonne, the Beavers inbounded the ball and got it to Karson Hayes. He dribbled up the court, pulled up from beyond-the-arc, and drained his 3-pointer as the horn sounded and it was off to OT.

In OT, the Griffins collected the first bucket from McGee's layup. However, the Beavers took the lead back and expanded on it out to 102-97 with 1:43 left on Ferrell's made free throws.

Fontbonne trimmed the lead down once again to 106-105 on Elijah Rice's 3-pointer with 12.0 seconds left, however, the Beavers made two free throws in the final seconds to hang on for the wild win.

Inside The Numbers

• Fontbonne posted a season-high 105 points on a 45.6 field goal percentage.
• The Griffins also set season-highs in 3-pointers made (10), free throws made (23), offensive rebounds (18), and rebounds (45).
• Fontbonne controlled the glass with a 45-34 advantage.
• The Beavers ended with a 54.5 field goal percentage and hit 17 3-pointers.

Blackburn Leaders

• Hayes ended with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting.
• Ferrell contributed 21 points, while Kirby and Chanz Aldridge added 17 and 12 points, respectively.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Rice had himself a game with a season-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
• Anthony Jones hit a career-high off the bench with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
• Wadlington added 15 points, while Clark and Jared Woodcock had 10 points each.

Up Next

The Griffins return to action on Tuesday when they'll host No. 10-ranked WashU. Tip-off at 8 p.m.

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

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