After a thrilling finish to the regular season that culminated in securing the #1 seed, the Webster University men's basketball team will host the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament on February 27-28.  The Gorloks will take on #4 Fontbonne University in the second semi-final at 8:00 p.m., while #2 Spalding University (KY) takes on #3 MacMurray College (IL) in the first semi-final at 6:00 p.m. on February 27 at Grant Gymnasium.

The winners of the semi-final games will face off for the championship on February 28 at 7:00 p.m., with the winner getting an automatic berth in the 2015 NCAA III Championships.

Webster University students will be admitted to the tournament for FREE with an I.D.  General admission to the tournament is $5 for adults and $2 for children (ages 5-16) and other students with school I.D.  Children under 5 are admitted free.

Tournament Preview  (The following preview is courtesy of the SLIAC Sports Information)
The top seed in the 2015 SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament was not decided until the final minutes of the regular season, as there was a three-way tie between Webster, Spalding, and MacMurray at 13-5 records for first place. In addition, the fourth seed into the tournament was not decided until the final night as well with Fontbonne grabbing the spot. All of this late season action should lead to a wild 2015 SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament. Webster secured the top seed in the tournament by virtue of the conference tiebreaker.

Broadcast Information
For those who can not make the tournament, all three games will be videostreamed by Webster.  You can find the link HERE.

Tournament Tidbits
Webster is hosting the tournament for the first time since 2012.
Webster is making their conference best 18th tournament appearance, having gone 8-15 all-time in the tournament.
Webster has won the tournament title twice in program history, including last year.
Webster was 4-2 against the tournament field in the regular season.
Fontbonne is making their 12th tournament appearance, but its first since 2009, going 16-7 all-time.
The Griffins have a conference high five tournament titles but are looking for their first title since 2009.
Fontbonne went 2-4 against tournament teams during the regular season, splitting with Spalding and MacMurray, and going 0-2 vs. the Gorloks.
MacMurray is making their 15th SLIAC Tournament appearance, with a 14-12 all-time mark.
MacMurray has two SLIAC Tournament titles in program history, winning in 1993 and 1999.
Both MacMurray and Spalding went 3-3 against the tournament teams.
Spalding is making their third consecutive SLIAC Tournament appearance, having gone 3-1 in tournament history.
Spalding is looking for their second tournament championship, previously winning in 2013.
Spalding lost all three re-matches after winning each of the regular season's first meetings against tournament teams,

Team Previews
WEBSTER UNIVERSITY GORLOKS
Webster starts postseason play as the hottest team in the league having won five straight games and going 8-2 in their last 10 regular season contests. The Gorloks are 17-8 overall and went 13-5 in SLIAC play, to secure a share of the SLIAC regular season title.

Webster is averaging 69.4 points per game this year, fourth in the conference, and are the league's top shooting team at 45.2 percent from the field. They also have limited opponents to just 41.0 percent shooting this year, best in the league. Senior guard Ahmad Smith is the leading scorer for the team, averaging 15.9 points per game this season. He is joined by sophomore guard Hunter Ward, at 13.1 points per game, and senior forward Aaron Griffin, at 10.5 points per game.

FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY GRIFFINS
First year head coach Anthony Hall has guided the Griffins back to the postseason after going 12-13 overall and 11-7 SLIAC play. The Griffins closed out the regular season with three consecutive wins and are averaging 67.8 points per game this season, fifth in the conference. The Griffins like to attack the basket, averaging a conference high 23.4 free-throw attempts per game.

Junior forward Jared Greenlee is the team's go to player, leading the team in both scoring (13.1) and rebounding (7.3) per game. Greenlee is shooting 52.6 percent from the floor this year, good for fourth in the conference. Junior guard Blake Welch is the team's top outside threat, averaging 10.2 points per game, shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range.

SPALDING UNIVERSITY GOLDEN EAGLES
Spalding went 16-9 during the regular season, earning a share of the SLIAC title with a 13-5 record. It marks the third consecutive season the Golden Eagles have claimed outright or part of the SLIAC title. They begin postseason play having gone just 2-4 in their last six regular season games.

The Golden Eagles are averaging 64.6 points per game, eighth in the league, but feature the top defense which allowed a conference low 61.8 points per game. Brandon Goeing, a junior guard, is the team's leading scorer at 15.2 points per game while Brandon Gabriel, a senior guard, is averaging 14.0 points pre game. Goeing is also the team's top outside threat with a conference high 68 three-point field goals this season.

MACMURRAY COLLEGE HIGHLANDERS
MacMurray begins postseason play with a 13-12 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the SLIAC. The Highlanders tied for a share of the SLIAC regular season title, marking their first title since the 2006-07 season. The Highlanders went 6-4 in their final 10 regular season games and closed out the season with a 98-71 win over Principia.

MacMurray is averaging a conference high 76.9 points per game. Senior center Clayton Whitlock has been a force this season, winning the SLIAC scoring title at 16.9 points per game. Whitlock is nearly unstoppable under the basket where he is shooting 66.9 percent from the floor. Senior guard Dylan Guthrie is second on the team at 14.1 points per game, knocking down 35.2 percent of his three-point attempts while junior Deavis Johnson, a mid-season transfer, is averaging 11.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.