Box Score Harnessing an offense that averaged 86 points a game coming into the contest, the Webster University men's basketball team defeated Central College (IA), 70-65, on December 19 at Grant Gymnasium. The Gorloks took a seven point halftime lead, and were never headed by the Dutch as Webster improved to 7-3 on the season.
Webster had an 11 point lead with seven minutes left in the contest, but Central cut the lead to three with two minutes remaining to make for a wild finish as 20 total points were scored in the final 1:50. The Dutch made four of their seven second-half three pointers in that span but the Gorloks made seven of 10 free throws to seal the win.
Webster took a 33-26 halftime lead holding Central, who averages 30 three-point attempts per contest, in check as it was just 5-16 from beyond the arc and only 9-27 (33%) from the field as a whole. The Gorloks held the edge in shooting, made only three turnovers in the half, and controlled the boards in taking the lead. On the night, Webster only committed nine turnovers.
In that hectic final 2 minutes, an Ahmad Smith (SR, St. Louis, MO/Clayton HS) layup at 1:50 put Webster up, 61-56 An Adam Etter (SO, Albers, IL/Mater Dei HS) free throw after a Central three-point miss made it, 62-56, at 1:15. Smith hit an FT after another Dutch three miss at 1:06, and it was 63-56. But Central hit two threes, sandwiched by a Danny Zehner (JR, St. Louis, MO/Oakville HS) FT, to make it 64-62 with 35 seconds remaining.
A pair of Zehner FTs gave Webster a 66-62 cushion, but another Dutch three made it a one-point contest, 66-65, with just 14.8 seconds on the clock. Etter was fouled at 12.8, and hit both FTs, to make it, 68-65, Webster. Gorlok fans could breathe a sigh of relief as a final Central three-point attempt missed the mark with just seconds left on the clock. A pair of Hunter Ward (SO, St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood HS) FTs made it a 70-65 final.
Ward had his fifth double double on the year, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and a team-high four assists. Smith led Webster with 17 points, and Zehner came off the bench to score nine points, hand out three assists, and had three rebounds.
Aaron Griffin (SR, Farm Haven, MS/Velma Jackson HS) had eight points and eight rebounds on the night. Taylor Walton (JR, Okawville, IL/Okawville HS) also had a nice game off the bench, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds in 13 minutes of play.
Central came into the contest averaging 85.8 points per game, including 132 in one contest. The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champs in 2013-14 with a 21-8 record, the Dutch are now 6-3 on the year with the loss to Webster.
The Gorloks are off for two weeks over the holiday break, returning to action on January 3 at Eureka College (IL). Webster returns home on January 8 when it hosts Iowa Wesleyan College at Grant.
