Men's Basketball Uses Second Half Run To Get Past Golden Eagles

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team pulled away in the second half en route to the 66-53 win over Spalding. Fontbonne goes to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the SLIAC. Spalding falls to 1-12 overall and 0-3 in SLIAC action.

Brent Wagner led the Griffins with a season-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting and connecting on four 3-pointers. Caden Clark finished with 12 points, while Cheikh Thiam had a season-high 10 points. 

In the first half, the Griffins jumped out to a 14-6 lead at the 15:16 mark on Brent Wagner's layup. The Golden Eagles outscored Fotnbonne 19-6 run over the next nine minutes taking a 25-20 lead after Anthony Dillard hit two free throws.

Fontbonne was able to close out the half on a 10-1 run capped off by Thiam's layup giving them a 30-26 lead at the break. Fontbonne shot 44.8 percent from the floor in the first with Thiam, Wagner, and Clark having six points each.

In the second half, the Griffins stretched its lead out to 43-33 on Thiam's layup with 14:08 remaining. The Golden Eagles, though kept hanging around getting a bucket from Kobe Hargove with 7:44 on the clock to make it a 48-44 game. 

However, the Griffins went on a 13-0 run over the next three minutes highlighted by three straight three-pointers from Wagner. Fontbonne remained in control the rest of the way going on for the 13-point win.

Fontbonne shot 44.8 percent from the floor, while defensively the Griffins forced 25 Golden Eagle turnovers turning it into 25 points. 

Up Next

The Griffins are back in action on Saturday when they'll visit Greenville. Tip-off at 3 p.m.

Make sure to follow men's basketball on all its social media accounts: Twitter (@FBUBasketball), Instagram (@fbubasketball) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).