Posting Up - Scoreboard - Top 25 - Features - Notables - Team of the Week - Live Audio

Press Release

This is a press release submitted by one of the schools playing in this game. It has not been edited or approved by D3hoops.com
Click here to read the other press release

ST. LOUIS, — The Maryville University men's basketball team saw their season come to an end with a 73-72 loss to Fontbonne University in the 2008 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament Championship. The Saints, who were the #4 seed in the tournament, finish the season at 13-14 overall.

The first half was a battle with the lead changing hands a total of five times, but it was Maryville who took a 10-point lead heading into halftime. Fontbonne cut their deficit to two points at the 2:54 mark, but the Saints answered with an 11-3 run to end the half. Maryville shot 47.1 percent (16-of-34) from the field in the first half, including 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from behind the arc. Fontbonne, on the other hand, shot only 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from the field and 10.0 percent (1-of-10) from three-point range.

The Saints took their largest lead of the game (14 points) at the start of the second half, but Fontbonne did not give up and slowly chipped away at the lead. The Griffins took their first lead of the second half at the 5:42 mark, but Maryville answered on the next possession with a layup by freshman Ben Koopman. Fontbonne retook the lead for the final time at 5:04 and held on until the end.

In the final minute of the game, Maryville cut their deficit to one point on a made free throw by junior Aaron Steinke. Fontbonne's Justin Storandt hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to put his team back up by two points, and then teammate Josh Branch hit two shots from the line to give the Griffins a four-point advantage, 73-69, with just 12 seconds remaining. Steinke came down and hit a clutch three-pointer with seven seconds on the clock to make the score 73-72. After a foul and two missed free throws by Branch, Maryville sophomore Jared McCoy had a highly contested layup, but his last second attempt failed, and Fontbonne came away with the victory.

Fontbonne's Branch and Brian Fogerty each scored a game-high 24 points. Branch was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe and also added four steals and three assists. Fogerty shot 8-of-16 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. Storandt finished with a game-high 14 rebounds to help the Griffins out rebound the Saints 41-35.

Steinke led Maryville with 20 points, seven rebounds and a game-high five assists. Junior Teddy McGrath and sophomore Tyler Saxton had 14 and 10 points respectively, and senior Casey Holland added nine points and nine rebounds.

Maryville's Steinke and Saxton were both named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Fontbonne's Fogerty and Chad Fournie. Fournie was also named Tournament MVP.

Fontbonne receives the automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Brackets will be announced on Monday, March 3.

2008 SLIAC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team

Landon Kurz - Westminster
Ryan Turk - Webster
Aaron Steinke - Maryville
Tyler Saxton - Maryville
Brian Fogerty - Fontbonne
Chad Fournie - Fontbonne (MVP)

Press release submitted by Maryville (Mo.) on Mar 01 2008 at 08:34 PM

Teams By Region
Schedules and results

Northeast	M	W
East	M	W
Atlantic	M	W
Middle Atlantic	M	W
South	M	W
Great Lakes	M	W
Midwest	M
Central		W
West	M	W

Contact Us
About D3hoops.com
Feedback
Privacy Policy
Team of Week Nominations
User Survey