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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Fontbonne used a 15-0 scoring run early in the second half Tuesday to erase a slim deficit as the Griffins rallied past Nazareth for a 79-70 men's basketball victory. The result came in the consolation game of the Thirvent Financial Tournament hosted by Cal Lutheran at the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center. Nazareth lost to ninth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan, 84-41, on Monday.

Nazareth's Maurice Mills led all scorers with 31 points as he made 14 of 15 shots from the floor. He also had 12 rebounds and five blocks. The Golden Flyers dropped to 2-5 overall and return to New York for two more games this weekend at the Hilbert Tournament. Nazareth plays John Carroll Saturday at 3 p.m. Hilbert and Potsdam play at 5. The consolation and championsip games are Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m. respecitively. Fontbonne, from St. Louis, Mo., improved to 3-7 overall.

Nazareth trailed for much of the game, but managed to gain a five-point advantage, 45-40, following a three-point basket by Dan Morse with 17 minutes left.The Griffins then embraked on a 15-point scoring spree that included 10 straight points by Darius Rucker to regain the lead for good, 55-45, with 12:52 to go. Fontbonne's lead grew as large as 14 points at 68-54 following another basket by Rucker, who scored 21 points off the bench for the Griffins as he made 8 of 10 shots. Nazareth desparately tried to get back in the game, but Fontbonne's defensive tenacity limited the Golden Flyers' chances. Two free throws by Nick Nadeau closed the gap to 70-63 with 2:50 left, then a free throw and follow-up basket by Mills drew Nazareth even closer at 72-66 with just over a minute to go. Two more free throws by Nadeau (10 points) made the score 74-68 with :30 left, but the Griffins made free throws to preserve the win. Blake Welch made four in the closing minute and Evan Johnson added three more.

The first half was close throughout. Nazareth led briefly at 24-23 following a basket by Mills with 8:17 left in the half, but Fontbonne quickly answered with a basket by Welch on its next possession. The Griffins eventually settled for a 37-36 lead at the break as Johnson finished the half with four three-pointers for 12 points overall. Mills had 16 of his points for Nazareth in the first 20 minutes. Nadeau and Jack Mulcahy each had six points.

Mulcahy finished the game with nine points and Denzell Jackson added eight to go with a career-high nine rebounds. Nazareth shot 46.6 percent (27-for-58) from the field, but just 52.9 percent (9-for-17) from the foul line. Fontbonne shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) and 75 percent (18-for-24) from those areas. In addition to Rucker, three others scored in double figures for Fontbonne. Johnson finished with 17, Jared Greenlee 14 with a game-high 15 rebounds and Welch had 12.