(Fontbonne Game Notes)

Duke versus North Carolina. Xavier versus Dayton. Syracuse versus Connecticut. Webster versus Fontbonne.

Webster versus Fontbonne?? Yes, Webster versus Fontbonne. While the other three have their place on the family of networks, the Battle on Big Bend fits in with Rivalry Week. The Gorloks will take the five mile trip down Big Bend Boulevard to grapple with St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) rival Fontbonne in a game with SLIAC tournament implications.

Webster, who already owns a victory over the Griffins this season, is one game back of front-running Fontbonne. The Griffins are tied with Westminster atop of the SLIAC with three league losses with five games remaining. A trio of schools – Webster, Greenville and Maryville – is all sitting waiting to pounce on the tournament’s top seed with four losses should both teams falter. However, since the tournament only takes four schools one of those five teams will be left at home.

The first game was a double overtime affair is which the Gorloks prevailed, 87-83. Senior Steve Hrdlicka turned in possibly his best overall performance of the season with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists, while sophomore Nick Jones dropped in a career-high 20 points. Senior Ryan Turk added 20 points in the 50-minute slugfest.

Turk is second in the SLIAC with 17.5 points per game and 80 assists.

Can the Gorloks equal their defensive performance in which they held the SLIAC’s top scoring team to 83 points in a two overtime game? Fontbonne brings impressive credentials into the contest, leading Division III – shooting 53 percent from the field, and their 87.5 points per game are fifth in Division III.

Fontbonne features four players, led by Brian Fogerty’s 18.7 points, in double figures. Guard Chris Forrest in fifth nationally in shooting percentage, converting 65 percent of his baskets en route to scoring 15.9 points per contest. Patrick McCoy and Josh Branch complete the quartet with 16.8 and 14.6 points, respectively.

Defensive stalwarts – Luke Niebrugge, Hrdlicka and Josue Whitcomb – have really propelled the Webster defense to the top of the SLIAC. The Gorloks are allowing just 70.8 points per game, including holding Spalding to just 47 points on Saturday.

Trying to match basket for basket with such a prolific scoring team doesn’t seem like a good idea for a team that tallied just 43 points in their last game and has struggled in the second half during their two-game losing streak. In losses to Eureka and Spalding, the Gorloks are averaging 23 points on 30 percent shooting in the second half. Included in the offensive woes is a three-point percentage that comes in at 16 percent in the second 20 minutes.

For all the firepower on the offense the Griffins possess, their defense appears to be shooting blanks as Fontbonne is near the bottom in scoring defense – allowing 79.7 points per game. 

Fontbonne is one of the hottest teams in the SLIAC winning seven of their last eight games since the Webster loss. The only loss in that time frame was a 22-point meltdown to Eureka. The Red Devils trailed FU by 22 points in the second half, and won the game on a turnover and layup at the buzzer.