Griffins Season Ends at Trine

Written by the SLIAC

Fontbonne University saw its 2023-24 season end on Friday night in a 91-81 loss to Trine University in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.

After falling behind 8-1 to start the game the Griffins responded against the host school with a 14-4 run of their own. Ethan Chartrand started the run with a pair of free-throws and a layup and was followed by back to back buckets from Cheikh Thiam to give Fontbonne a 9-8 lead. Brent Wagner knocked down back-to-back three's to put Fontbonne up 15-12. 

A lay-up by Thiam gave Fontbonne a 27-25 lead with 2:42 remaining in the first-half but that would be the last time the Griffins would have a lead in the game. They went into half-time trailing 32-29 and were down 49-40 just five minutes into the second-half. 

It was another triple from Wagner that sparked a second-half push for Fontbonne as they were able to push their way back to tie the score on two occasions in the final 10-minutes of the game including a 61-61 score after a Charles Nelson steal and layup with 7:10 left. 

However Trine hit their next five shots in building up the lead once again and securing the win. Trine shot 54-percent in the game, out scoring Fontbonne 20-9 on fastbreak points and 32-9 in points off turnovers. 

Wagner led Fontbonne with 30 points, including six three-pointers. Thiam added 14 points with Chartrand and Nelson each chipping in 10 points. Fontbonne closes the season with a 20-8 overall record.