The Webster University men's basketball team fell into a deep hole early and never recovered as it lost to Central College, 88-58, in Pella, IA, on November 14. The Gorloks, looking to find an identity after the loss of its leading scorer and rebounder in 2014-15 to graduation, came out shooting ice cold as the Dutch took control and cruised to victory.
Webster started out 3-21 from the field, as it fell behind, 25-8. The Gorloks recovered somewhat to head into the locker room, 37-19. Transfer Xavier Dortch (JR, Stockton, AL/Faulkner St. CC), and Joseph Henry (JR, Leavenworth, KS/Lansing HS) each had five points to lead Webster, and Hunter Ward (JR, Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood HS) had a team-high seven rebounds.
Central started the second half with a 15-0 run to extend its lead to 54-19 and put the game out of reach. Dortch wound up as the leading scorer for the Gorloks, with 13 points on 5-10 shooting. Ward would be the team-leader with 10 rebounds on the afternoon. A small consolation for Webster, the score allowed head coach Chris Bunch to give 12 players time in the contest. The Dutch would wind up with 14 players seeing action.
The Gorloks, the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coaches' 2015-16 pre-season poll pick to finish first, have three first place finishes over the last five seasons. Webster returned three starters from last year's edition plus several other players who saw significant playing time, and added several transfers and freshmen to the mix for this year's squad.
Central, a historic program starting its 105th season of play, was 15-11 in 2014-15, and made the NCAA III championships the previous year as the team went 21-8. The Dutch are a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Webster, which has a heavy dose of Iowa colleges early on the schedule, hosts Loras College (IA) on November 21 at Grant Gymnasium for its home opener. The game will follow the second day's action of the women's basketball team's Cavallo Tip Off, with the Webster women playing Aurora University (IL) at 3:00 p.m.
