ST. LOUIS, MO – The Principia Men's Basketball team traveled down to St. Louis on Thursday evening to face the Fontbonne University Griffins in their first SLIAC game of the season. Fontbonne won the SLIAC regular season last year, and brought back nearly everyone off of that championship team. Principia came into the game 8-3, and was looking to start their SLIAC campaign on the correct note.
Early on, the game was an even match up. Principia started strong and took an early five point lead on a layup from
Clark Davidson with 15:38 remaining. A
Jaquan Adams bucket with 11:07 remaining made the score 19-15, but that was the last lead the Panthers would have. After a
Payton Sellers 3-pointer with 8 minutes left in the half tied the game at 22, Fontbonne went on a 17-5 run to end the half and take control of the game.
Down 39-27 at the start of the second half, the Panthers started slow after the break as Fontbonne kept the pressure on to go up 60-36 with 11:10 remaining. Principia would not quit and flipped a switch to go on a 15-0 run over the next 4 minutes and 30 seconds to cut the lead to nine. A 3-pointer and a basket plus the foul by
Shemarri Miles helped get the Panthers back in the game. Unfortunately, the Panthers ran out of steam and could not get any closer as they fell 80-65.
Good to Know: Principia falls to 0-1 in SLIAC play while Fontbonne moves to 1-0.
Jaquan Adams led the Panthers with 25 points while
Shemarri Miles chipped in with 11 points. Both Adams and Miles also added three steals each.
Up Next: Principia faces a quick turnaround as they face Greenville University on the road on Saturday at 3:00 pm. The Panthers will look to get their first road win of the season in what will be a good test against the highest scoring team in the nation.
