(Greenville Game Notes)
After a slow start, the Webster men have appeared to have righted its ship and are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
A victory over Greenville Saturday would help boost the Webster resume and pull them closer to the top of the standings. Currently, the top six schools are in a virtual dog-fight. The six schools all have legitimate claims to being able to host the tournament, however, they could legitimately be spectators as the SLIAC tournament gets underway.
It was a double overtime victory over Fontbonne that jumpstarted the Gorloks on this current stretch that has seen them win four of the last five games. After a home loss to Eureka, Webster resumed their winning ways with a 89-64 defeat of Principia. The victory was the 100th in coach Chris Bunch’s career.
Senior Ryan Turk, who is second in the SLIAC with 18.1 points per game, is nearing the 1,000-point plateau. The guard from Colorado needs just 21 points to become the school’s eighth member of the 1,000-point club.
One of the reasons for Webster’s success has been its ability to take care of the basketball. The Gorloks are leading the conference in assist to turnover ratio and are forcing more than three turnovers than they commit. Turk is the SLIAC leader in assist to turnover ratio.
Greenville stands a half game behind Fontbonne for second place in the SLIAC, and 1 ½ games behind leader Westminster.
The Panthers are led by a pair of prolific scorers in LaPhonso Ellis and Ben Cochran. The duo is averaging 30 points between the two of them as GC is second in the SLIAC scoring 79.2 points per game. As impressive as their offensive numbers are, the defensive credentials are equally impressive. The Panthers are second in scoring defense, allowing just 69.5 points per game.
