Box Score Taking over sole possession of third place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Webster University men's basketball team downed Fontbonne University, 71-57. Ahmad Smith, playing his first game in three weeks, and Hunter Ward fueled the Gorloks victory at Fontbonne on February 11.
Smith (SR, St. Louis, MO/Clayton HS) had 20 points on 8-15 shooting for the game. Ward (SO, St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood HS) finished the evening with a team-high 21 points, on 7-13 shooting. Ward banged in five three-pointers, finishing 5-9 from beyond the arc.
Smith, the Gorloks' and the SLIAC's leading scorer (16.2 ppg), had little rust in his return. The 'pep' in the Webster offense was obvious with Smith back in the lineup. Smith was injured in the Gorloks' 65-54 win over Fontbonne, on January 17 at Grant Gymnasium.
Webster and Fontbonne came into the contest tied for the third place in the SLIAC with 8-5 records. The Gorloks finished the night 9-5, one game ahead of Fontbonne, Greenville College, and Eureka College, all tied now for fourth place at 8-6.
The top four finishers in the regular season qualify for the SLIAC Tournament, which determines which conference team will advance to the NCAA III Championships.
Webster grabbed a 37-28 halftime lead. The Gorloks led only 22-21 at the 6:25 mark when Ward hit a three-pointer. An Aaron Griffin (SR, Farm Haven, MS/Velma Jackson HS) steal and a Smith layup extended the lead to 27-21, at 5:20. Another Ward three and a pair of Smith layups made it, 34-24, at 2:25 A Joe Henry (SO, Leavenworth, KS/Lansing HS) three at the buzzer gave Webster a 37-28 lead.
The Gorloks shot 15-29 (52%) for the half and held Fontbonne to 9-23 (39%) shooting. Webster controlled under the basket as the team had 20 of its points in the paint for the half.
A Fontbonne 7-0 run to open the second half cut the lead to 37-35. Another Ward three-pointer, at 16:20, ended the spell to give Webster 40-35 lead. The Gorloks extended the lead to 50-39 before the Griffins inched to within two, 52-50, with 8:50 left in the game on an 11-2 run.
An Adam Etter (SO, Albers, IL/Mater Dei HS) three-pointer and another pair of Smith layups gave Webster a 62-52 lead with 3:40 remaining and the Gorloks were in control for good.
With four three throws in the contest, Smith also moved into sixth place on Webster's career list with 220, passing Dan Thoman (1987-91) who had 219 for his career.
Webster has back to back home games on February 14 and February 16. Blackburn College visits Grant on the 14th, and the 2014 Webster golf team will be honored at halftime of the women's contest. Spalding University makes the trip from Louisville, KY, to face the Gorloks on February 16. The Webster 2014 baseball and volleyball teams will be honored at halftime of the women's game and the 2014 men's and women's soccer teams will be honored at halftime of the men's game that evening.
