Men's Basketball Clinches Spot In SLIAC Tournament With Win Over Principia

ELSAH, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team is headed back to the SLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2014-15 after knocking off Principia, 89-79.

Final: Fontbonne 89, Principia 79

Location: Elsah, Ill.

Records: Fontbonne (14-11; 12-6 SLIAC), Principia (5-19; 4-14 SLIAC)

How It Happened

In the first half, the Panthers opened with a 19-10 lead at the 10:40 mark on Kevin Wingert's 3-pointer. The Griffins offense started to catch fire over the next three minutes and 35 seconds going on a 22-6 run as Jared Woodcock's 3-pointer gave them a 32-24 lead.

The Panthers continued to hang around as Payton Sellers 3-pointer with 2:01 on the clock trimmed the Griffins advantage down to 36-31. However, the Griffins closed out the half on a 7-0 run to lead 43-31 at the break.

Fontbonne shot 48.5 percent from the floor in the first and connected on seven 3-pointers. Jared Woodcock led all scorers with a game-high 14 points.

In the second half, consecutive made free throws from Cody McKinney with 12:46 remaining had Fontbonne out front, 55-44. The Panthers tried to mount a comeback as Sellers hit his 3-pointer at the 10:37 mark to make it a 61-55 contest.

However, a 12-4 run in less than three minutes had Fontbonne back out ahead by double-digits (73-59) on Anthony Jones' made layup.

Principia once more rallied to be down 76-72 with 4:12 left in regulation on Trevaughn Goodman's jumper. That'd be as close as they'd get with Fontbonne answering with a 9-0 run and hanging on for the 10-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• Fontbonne shot 46.2 percent from the field and outrebounded Principia, 40-39.
• The Griffins held a 42-34 advantage in the paint.
• Fontbonne bench outscored Principia's 39-12.
• Principia finished with a 42.9 field goal percentage.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Jared Woodcock led Fontbonne off the bench with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
• Caden Clark added 17 points and set a new career-high with 11 made free throws.
• Anthony Jones went 7-of-11 from the floor to finish with 16 points.
• Cody McKinney tied his season-high with 12 points.

Principia Leaders

• Clark Davidson led all scorers with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting.
• Payton Sellers added 22 points on 6-of-15 shooting.

Up Next

The team will be the No. 3 seed in the SLIAC Tournament next Thursday and they'll take on No. 2 seeded Greenville. Tip-off at 5:30 from Webster.  

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

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