Griffins Going Dancing For First Time Since 2009
For the first time since 2009, the Fontbonne University men's basketball program is headed to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The Griffins defeated host school, and rival, Webster University 55-49 in come-from-behind fashion. Fontbonne held Webster scoreless for the final 8:30 of the game, overcoming a 12-point deficit.
Fontbonne scored the first four points of the game and held a 6-4 lead at the 17:12 mark. That time would be important as it would be Fontbonne's final lead for the majority of the game. Webster went on a 16-2 run over the next seven minutes with four different Gorloks contributing points. Fontbonne closed the score to 26-23 but the Gorloks ended the half with seven straight points on a pair of jumpers from Markus Becton and a three by Wynne Brown Jr.
Webster led 35-26 just one minute into the second half when Fontbonne turned up its defensive pressure. After forcing just four Gorlok turnovers in the first half the Griffins' defense forced 13 turnovers in the second half and was key in their comeback. Will Suellentrop sparked a 9-0 Griffins run with a pair of layups before Brent Wagner tied the game up at 35-35 with a three.
Webster fought off the Griffins' run and extended its lead back to eight points, at 47-39, after a Jemard Sykes three. Karl Moore Jr. put the Gorloks up 49-44 with 8:30 left but that would end up being the Gorloks' final points of the evening. Wagner struck again with another deep ball at the 5:39 mark that made the score 49-48. The Griffins' defense took center stage during this stretch with several hustle plays. One of which was Jaden Betton coming from behind to steal the ball and give the Griffins possession, which eventually led to a layup by Cheikh Thiam that put the Griffins up 50-49, their first lead in over 31 minutes of game time.
Wagner knocked down a jumper that put the Griffins up 52-49. Other hustle plays saw Thiam swatting away a shot with just over one minute left in the game and Elijah Rice stealing the ball after a Gorlok defensive rebound. Betton added a pair of free throws late to make the score 55-49 while the Griffins' defense did the rest forcing Webster to miss its final nine shots in addition to committing eight turnovers in the final eight minutes. Fontbonne outscored Webster 21-5 in points off turnovers and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds.
Fontbonne was led by Brent Wagner, who was named the Tournament MVP, with 13 points while Will Suellentrop finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Along with Wagner, Suellentrop was named to the All-Tournament team as well as was Jaden Betton. This is the 6th time in program history the Griffins have advanced to the national tournament, a SLIAC record.
Webster was led by Karl Moore Jr. with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots and along with Wynne Brown Jr. was named to the All-Tournament team. Others earning All-Tournament honors were Eureka College's Logan Dorethy, Greenville University's Jarred Johnson, Principia College's Clark Davidson, and Spalding University's Anthony Dillard.
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