Men's Basketball Unable to Overcome Slow Second Half

CARLINVILLE, IL – Blackburn College Men's Basketball hosted Fontbonne University in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action but were unable to capture victory as they fell 86-61. 

Blackburn was led by senior Zach Kelsey with 15 points. Senior Izayah Talmadge added 14 points while sophomore Darius Duff tallied 12. Duff also paced the Beavers with six rebounds with Kelsey and Talmadge both grabbing five each. 

Kelsey got the game started with a three then Talmadge answered a Fontbonne basket with an and-one for an early 6-2 lead, but the guests rallied to take a 10-8 lead four minutes in. Blackburn answered with baskets from Duff and sophomore Cameron Johnson, but another Fontbonne score made the game 10-10 six minutes into the half. 

The Griffins broke the tie and pulled ahead 24-13 with eight minutes to go in the frame but Blackburn responded. Johnson made two free throws before a Duff layup. After a Talmadge three answered four points from Fontbonne, the Griffins scored again and pulled ahead 32-20 with five minutes left. 

Kelsey then stopped the Griffin rally with two threes that sandwiched a Talmadge layup to pull Blackburn to 32-28. FBU hit a three with 2:30 left, but Duff responded with a layup and Kelsey hit his fourth three of the half to make the Blackburn deficit just 35-33. Freshman Odis Grissom tied the game at 35-35 with a layup to send the game into the break. 

The defending SLIAC Champions came out of the break and proved their depth and experience however, and were able to pull ahead on their way to an 86-61 win. 

Blackburn falls to 5-11 on the season and 4-5 on the year while Fontbonne improves to 11-5 overall, 6-3 in the SLIAC. The Beavers return to action Saturday to take Greenville College in another SLIAC matchup.