(Box Score)

He who laughs, last; laughs the loudest. Senior Ryan Turk and the rest of the Webster Gorloks got the last chuckle at the expense of their heated rival, Fontbonne.

After missing an early jumper and facing the Fontbonne fans razzing him with “air ball” chants, Turk lit up Lee McKinney Court for a career-tying 32 points as Webster completed the season sweep of Fontbonne Wednesday with an 83-68 victory.

When he nailed a three-pointer in the later moments of the game, Turk jogged past the Fontbonne faithful positioned near midcourt and had a few kind words for the student section.

Turk wasn’t a one-man show as senior Luke Niebrugge dropped in 14 points and sophomore Nick Jones contributed 12 to help the cause.

Senior Steve Hrdlicka scored five of the seven points during Webster’s 7-0 spurt that enabled them to open up a 10-point lead (50-40). Turk hit three three-pointers during the game deciding stretch in which Webster scored 17 of 19 points, and when the smoke cleared from the Gorlok blitzing – the lead stood at 19 (67-48).

Webster dug its heels in defensively in holding the SLIAC highest scoring team to just 68 points to almost 20 points below their season average. Fontbonne, who was fifth nationally in scoring, led the country in field goal percentage – and the Gorloks took it personal in slowing down the high-powered Griffin offense.

Leading the defensive charge was Niebrugge and Hrdlicka, while junior John Ortwerth came off the bench to hit the glass. Ortwerth pulled down a career-best eight boards in 12 minutes. He surpassed his previous career-high of five by the time the teams headed to the halftime break.

The intensity at Lee McKinney Court was evident from the opening tip, and neither team was willing to give an inch offensively or defensively.

Both teams sizzled the nets in the first half, which isn’t uncharacteristic for the Griffins. Fontbonne entered the game leading Division III in field goal percentage. Webster converted 53 percent (17-of-32) from the field, while FU was 15-of-29 (52 percent). Despite the high conversion rate from the field, every basket was contested and earned.