Strong First Half Leads To Griffins Win Over Beavers

CARLINVILLE, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's basketball team won its second straight game and swept the season series over Blackburn by a final score of 85-73. The Griffins go to 12-10 overall and 8-3 in the SLIAC. Blackburn falls to 7-15 overall and 3-8 in the SLIAC.

Fontbonne had five players in double-figures led by Caden Clark with 19 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.

Ethan Chartrand finished with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Cheikh Thiam earned his fourth double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Brent Wagner also finished with 12 points. Drew Cromer had a career-high 11 points off the bench.

After the Beavers took a 7-6 lead at the 16:07 mark, the Griffins outscored Blackburn 19-3 over the next seven minutes taking a commanding 26-9 lead on Wagner's layup.

Fontbonne remained in control the rest of the half leading 47-29 after one. The Griffins were rolling offensively in the first going 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) from the floor. Clark and Chartrand combined for 21 of the teams 47 first half points.

In the second half, the Beavers got its double-digit deficit down to 60-52 after Chanz Aldridge connected on the three-point play with 10:04 remaining.

Clark answered on the ensuing possession with a three-pointer putting Fontbonne back on top, 63-52. The Beavers trailed by single-digits a few more times the final 10:00 minutes, but the Griffins never wavered securing the 12-point win.

Fontbonne shot a season-high 55.4 percent from the floor and dominated on the glass having a 44-24 advantage.

Up Next

The Griffins continue its road swing on Saturday when they'll visit Eureka. 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).