Jones' Career-High 42-Point Performance Leads Fontbonne Past Eureka In Overtime

ST. LOUIS, Mo.— It was another thrilling ending for the Fontbonne men's basketball team on Saturday. Anthony Jones had a career outing forcing overtime with a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer from half court and in overtime the Griffins were able to hang on for the 114-110 win over Eureka.

Final: Fontbonne 114, Eureka 110 (OT)

Location: DSAC

Records: Fontbonne (6-7; 4-2 SLIAC), Eureka (9-4; 4-2 SLIAC)

How It Happened

In the first half, the Griffins grabbed a 16-13 lead at the 12:46 mark on Domonic Doolin's made layup. Eureka went on to retake the advantage and expanded it out to 31-24 with 4:34 remaining on Austin Juergens layup.

Fontbonne continued to chip away and eventually tied it up on Jalen Wadlington's made jumper with 2:54 to go. After Eureka took the lead back on the ensuing possession, the Griffins answered with Cody McKinney draining his 3-pointer.

From there, the Red Devils regained the lead and led 43-20 with 25.0 seconds left on Jordan Dehm's 3-pointer. Prior to the half ending, though Anthony Jones got the ball off an inbound play and he drained his 3-pointer as the horn sounded to tie it up 43-43 at the break.

Fontbonne shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the first and were led by Jones' 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The Red Devils, meanwhile, connected on 52.8 percent of its attempts and were paced by Dehm's game-high 17 points.

After trailing 49-46 early in the second half, the Griffins went on a 13-0 run to lead by 10 (59-49) on Jones layup at 16:10.

The Griffins continued to hold onto its lead up until the 11:00 minute mark with Dehm's layup giving Eureka the 69-67 advantage.

Eureka never relinquished its lead as the clock continued to tick away. With 57.0 seconds left, the Griffins were down 96-90, but on the ensuing possession, McKinney hit another 3-pointer to put them down three.

The two teams traded off on made free throws, however, the Red Devils still led 98-95 with 13.0 seconds left. Fontbonne kept on battling as Elijah Rice made his layup with 3.0 seconds remaining to trim it down to 98-97.

After Dehm made two free throws, the Red Devils led 100-97 with just over 2.0 seconds on the clock. On the inbound pass, Noah Coddington found Jones and he heaved a half court shot at the buzzer and drained it to erupt the Fontbonne fan base and force OT.

In OT, the Griffins carried that momentum over netting the first five points with Jones' made jumper giving them the 105-100 lead.

Later, a dunk from Coddington gave Fontbonne the 108-102 lead with 2:39 to go. Despite the Red Devils threatening late, Jones registered the final six points for Fontbonne to secure the four-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• The Griffins finished with a 51.8 field goal percentage, drained 11 3-pointers, and went 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) from the free throw line.
• Defensively, they came away with a season-high 17 steals.
• Eureka ended with a 51.9 field goal percentage and outrebounded Fontbonne, 42-34.

Eureka Leaders

• Dehm led Eureka with a team-high 34 points on 12-of-20 shooting and added 11 boards.
• Dakota Bennington concluded with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while Austin Juergens added 22 on 8-of-17 shooting.
• Jalen Hosea was the final player in double-figures ending with 13.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Jones had a day to remember as he went 15-of-22 from the floor to finish with a game and career-high 42 points.
• Coddington, Doolin and McKinney had 12 points each.
• Rice finished with 10 points.

Up Next

The Griffins will now head on the road next week against Westminster on Wednesday. Tip-off at 7:30 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.

Make sure to follow us on all our social media accounts: Twitter (@FBUGriffins), Instagram (@fbugriffins) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).