Men's Basketball Erases 20-Point Halftime Deficit, But Fall In Final Seconds Against Blackburn

CARLINVILLE, Ill.—After erasing a 20-point halftime deficit, the Fontbonne University men's basketball team had hopes of completing its hard-fought effort to gain the lead, however, the Blackburn Beavers scored with 0.7 seconds left to secure the 73-72 win.

Records

Fontbonne (6-5; 2-1 SLIAC)

Blackburn (4-11; 3-1 SLIAC)

Game Breakdown

In the first half, the Griffins opened with an 8-2 lead on Elijah Rice's jumper with 15:49 on the clock. Fontbonne held onto its marginal advantage up until the 9:59 mark when Locke Hord connected on his 3-pointer making it an 18-16 contest.

Later, the Beavers expanded on its lead, but Fontbonne tried to stay within arms reach with Caden Clark hitting his jumper at 6:28 putting the Griffins down 30-21. However, the Beavers closed out the final six minutes on a 16-5 run with Fontbonne going scoreless for the remaining five minutes.

Blackburn shot 56.7 percent from the field and hit seven 3-pointers in the first. Fontbonne, meanwhile went 10-of-31 (32.3 percent) from the floor.

The script flipped in the second half with the offense catching fire. At 16:31, the Griffins trailed 51-33 on Javon Stovall's 3-pointer. Fontbonne took over from there going on an astounding 24-4 run in nine minutes time capped off by Will Suellentrop's 3-point play giving them the 57-55 lead.

Later, the Griffins led 69-65 with 3:45 left in regulation on four straight points from Caden Clark. The Beavers kept battling and took the lead back with 1:10 remaining on Dakarai White going 1-of-2 from the line.

On the ensuing possession, the Griffins took the 72-71 lead on Will Suellentrop's made layup. The Beavers, though spoiled the comeback effort by Fontbonne with White getting the ball in the paint and dunking home the game winning basket with just under a second left for the win.

Team Stats

• The Griffins finished with a 40.0 field goal percentage.
• Fontbonne went 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the free throw line.
• Blackburn shot 50.0 percent from the field and hit 11 3-pointers.
• Fontbonne held a 40-28 advantage in the paint.
• Blackburn's bench came through with a 33-12 advantage.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Caden Clark scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the second half on 9-of-20 shooting.
• Elijah Rice had 13 points in the first half to finish with 17 on 5-of-14 shooting.
• Will Suellentrop and Anthony Jones ended with 10 points each.

Up Next

The Griffins look to start a new winning streak on Saturday when they'll host Eureka. Tip-off at 3 p.m.

About Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in St. Louis, committed to a transformative education and inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically, act ethically and serve responsibly. The university, founded in 1923, is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, visit www.fontbonne.edu.

Make sure to follow the women's basketball team on all its social media accounts: Twitter (@fontbonnewbb), Instagram (@fontbonnewbb) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).