On January 28th the Blackburn College Men's Basketball team took on Fontbonne University Griffins in a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference bash that ended with Beavers on top a final score of 94-81.
In a game of which the Beavers thought would be an easy one after winning at Fontbonne in the first contest by 20 points, the Beavers quickly found themselves on their heels. As the two bigs from Fontbonne jumped out to a quick start with a 5-0 run. The Beavers recomposed themselves and went on a 5-2 run to tie the game at 7. The Beavers and Griffins would continue to trade baskets until the end of the first half with a score of 40-33 Blackburn in the lead.
The Beavers led by at the most 13 in the second half but, the Griffins would not go away as they chipped away at the Beaver lead. With the score tied at 59 all, Hunter Johnson picked off a Griffin pass, Johnson took off down the floor and threw down a monster two handed dunk that brought the whole crowd to their feet. Four possesions later the Beavers sealed the deal with a alleyoop from Tommy Childs to DeAndre Manuel for the slam. The Beavers used this momentum to race away with the game. The Beavers never looked back and won by a final score of 94-81.
Leading the Beavers in scoring was Chris Davis with 22 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Beavers was DeAndre Manuel with 17, Jake Maestranzi with 13, and Willie Orange with 12. Tommy Childs led the team with six rebounds. Leading the team in assists was Maestranzi and Manuel with five assists apiece. The Beavers shot 48.5% from the field, 35% from three point range, and 88% from the charity stripe.
Leading the Griffins in scoring, with a game high was 6'8" center Jack Lake with 29, who also led the team with nine rebounds. Jeff Smith led the team in assists with two. The Griffins shot 43% from the field, 26% from three point range, and 80% from the charity stripe.
The Beavers look to continue their two game winning streak on Wednesday Feburary 1st as they travel to Jacksonville to take on the MacMurray College, in a heated rivalry game