Men's Basketball Wins Third In A Row, Splits Season Series Against Blackburn

CARLINVILLE, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team extended its winning streak out to three after splitting the season series against Blackburn, 87-74.

Final: Fontbonne 87, Blackburn 74

Location: Carlinville, Ill.

Records: Fontbonne (10-8; 8-3 SLIAC), Blackburn (7-11; 6-5 SLIAC)

How It Happened

In the first half, a 3-pointer from Bryson Kirby had the Beavers ahead 20-14 with 13:22 remaining. The Griffins went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes and three seconds as Jalen Wadlington's layup gave them the 24-22 advantage.

Later, at 6:16, the Beavers tied the game at 28-28 after Nigel Ferrell made his layup. The Griffins answered by going on a 9-0 run in less than three minutes as Elijah Rice's layup gave Fontbonne a 37-28 lead.

Fontbonne continued to hold onto that advantage in the final minutes and headed into the locker room on top, 46-37. The Griffins offense went 20-of-38 (52.6 percent) from the floor in the first and were led by Jones' 14 points. Blackburn, meanwhile, shot 50.0 percent and Kirby tied Jones with 14 points of his own.

In the second half, with 11:30 remaining in regulation, the Griffins were on top by 10 (62-52), as Wadlington made his layup. However, the Beavers got back in it by going on a 14-4 run over the next four minutes and 19 seconds as Karson Hayes made both free throws to tie the game, 66-66.

At 5:31, the Beavers got a 3-pointer from David Lopez to trail by one (70-69). Fontbonne, though wasn't bothered as they went on a 6-0 run with Caden Clark's layup giving them the 76-69 lead with 4:11 to go. The Griffins never looked back from there as they cruised to the 13-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• Fontbonne shot 54.7 percent from the floor and owned a 37-25 advantage on the glass.
• The Griffins forced 16 Blackburn turnovers and turned that into 29 points.
• They had a 38-22 advantage in the paint and outscored Blackburn's bench, 28-9.
• The Beavers rounded out the night with a 44.1 field goal percentage.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Anthony Jones led with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting
• Noah Coddington was one-point off his career-best as he ended with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
• Jalen Wadlington was the final player in double-figures with 10.
• Caden Clark was busy on the both ends of the floor with eight points, six rebounds, and six assists.

Blackburn Leaders

• Bryson Kirby posted a team-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
• Karson Hayes saw all 15 of his points come in the second half, while Nigel Ferrell and David Lopez contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Up Next

The Griffins, who sit in second place in the SLIAC, are back in action for another key road contest against Greenville. Tip-off at 3 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).