Lance Thornhill Named Coach Of The Year, Anthony Jones Earns Defensive Player Of The Year Honors

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference released the Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams today and the Griffins came away big winners.

Head Coach Lance Thornhill won his first SLIAC Coach of the Year award after guiding the Griffins to its first outright SLIAC Regular Season Title since 1994.

Anthony Jones was named SLIAC Defensive Player of the Year and to the SLIAC Second Team. Caden Clark and Elijah Rice were named to the FirstTeam, while Dominic Doolin earned All-Sportsmanship honors. Clark was also named to the SLIAC All-Defensive Team.

Thornhill led the Griffins to its fourth SLIAC Regular Season Title in program history and its first since the 2008-09 season.

This year, the Griffins went 17-7 overall and 12-2 in conference play marking it the second time in the last three years they've accumulated 12 conference wins. The 17 wins on the season are the most since the 2007-08 season when the team went 21-7 overall.  

Jones, a Wentzville, Mo., native, is the first player in program history to win SLIAC Defensive Player of the Year. The senior guard averaged 12.9 points per game on the year and shot 50.4 percent from the field.

In conference play, Jones put up 13.4 points and against Greenville in the SLIAC Quarterfinals became the 15^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

Clark, a Bethalto, Ill, native, is named to the All-Defensive Team for the second time in his career, while it's his first SLIAC First Team selection.

The senior guard had a career season leading the point for Fontbonne setting new career-highs in points per game (15.5), minutes per game (33.6), field goal percentage (42.3), free throw percentage (79.3), rebounds (123), assists (129), and steals (47).

In 14 conference games, Clark posted 16.9 points on a 44.1 field goal percentage, shot 85.9 percent from the charity-stripe and handed out 4.9 assists per game.

Rice, a Cahokia, Ill., native, also is named to the First Team for the first time in his career. He's had a dominating 2021-22 season averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game. He's also shooting a career-best 48.7 percent from the floor.

Against conference opponents, the junior guard ranked in the top-five in the SLIAC putting up 17.0 points per game on a 50.7 field goal percentage.

Doolin, a Kansas City, Mo., native, is named to the All-Sportsmanship Team after scoring 5.3 points per game and shooting a career-high 56.9 percent from the field.

To view the All-Conference Team visit HERE

About Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in St. Louis, committed to a transformative education and inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically, act ethically and serve responsibly. The university, founded in 1923, is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, visit www.fontbonne.edu.

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