ELSAH, IL – The Principia Men's Basketball team started off the second half of the SLIAC slate hosting the Fontbonne University Griffins on Saturday. In their first meeting, Fontbonne handled the Panthers 80-65 down in St. Louis. Principia came into the game in third place in the SLIAC standings at 5-2, while Fontbonne was 6-1 in second place.
Principia started the game executing on offense and defense as they jumped out to an early lead. The Panthers would push the lead to 20 before going into the half up 18. In the second half, Principia slowed down the game, but Fontbonne began to make their comeback. Fortunately for the Panthers, they were able to hold off the hard charging Griffins and secure the 67-63 victory.
Early back-to-back 3-pointers by
Payton Sellers helped Principia jump out to an 8-0 lead. After a period of even play, Principia would go on a run and extended their lead to 14 on a layup by
Clark Davidson with 5:14 remaining in the half. Back-to-back threes by
Kevin Wingert in the final 90 seconds of the half stretched the lead all the way up to 20, before a late Fontbonne bucket would send the game into halftime at 43-25.
After a quick three by
Shemarri Miles to open the second half, Fontbonne would go on a 9-0 run to make the score 46-34 with 16:52 left. Back-to-back buckets by
Jaquan Adams and
Kevin Wingert pushed the Panthers' lead back up to 18 with 11:20 remaining, but the Griffins would begin to make their comeback from there. Two free throws by Fontbonne's Jaden Betton cut the lead to just 5 at 62-57 with 3:31 left. A couple of late buckets by the Panthers gave them just enough room to withstand Fontbonne's rally and defeat the Griffins, 67-63.
Good to Know: The Panthers were led by
Jaquan Adams and
Clark Davidson. Adams led the Panthers with a remarkable 26 points and 9 rebounds off the bench on 9/12 shooting from the field and 7/10 from the free throw line. Davidson had an all-around game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. This was the Men's Basketball team's first victory over Fontbonne since February 2018. Principia is now 6-2 in the SLIAC and tied for second place.
Up Next: Principia travels to Westminster College to face the Blue Jays on Tuesday, January 31st at 7:30 pm. The Panthers defeated Westminster in their first match up and will be looking for the season sweep.
