Box Score The Webster University men's basketball team was stunned in its semi-final match in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, losing at home to Fontbonne University, 67-61, on February 27.  The Gorloks, the #1 seed, end the season at 17-9 as the Griffins advance to the tournament championship on February 28 at Grant Gym.  One of the largest crowds in recent years, over 650 enthusiasts, jammed Grant Gymnasium for the contest.

The game was a defensive battle at the start with the Gorloks forcing turnovers on the Griffins first two possessions and four of their first five.  Webster had blocked shots by Aaron Griffin (SR, Farm Haven, MS/Velma Jackson HS) and Hunter Ward (SO, St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood HS) on the next two Fontbonne possessions as well, but the score was tied at 7-7 five minutes into the half.

Fontbonne temporarily gained the lead, 23-18, with 7:55 left in the first half. A steal by Adam Etter (SO, Albers, IL/Mater Dei HS) and a layup by Ahmad Smith (SR, St. Louis, MO/Clayton HS) cut the Fontbonne lead to 23-20 at 6:28.   A technical four on the Griffins' head coach resulted in a pair of Ward free throw to tie the game at 23-23.  A three-pointer by Smith, a pair of Jonathan Odjo (SO, West Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast HS) free throws, and a layup by Taylor Walton (JR, Okawville, IL/Okawville HS) finished off a 12-0 run to give Webster a 30-23 lead.  The Gorloks led at the half, 32-27.

Webster had only five turnovers in the half to Fontbonne's 11, and had five blocked shots to zero for the Griffins.  Smith had 11points, C.J. Moore (SO, Homestead, FL/Miami Killian HS) had seven points and four rebounds, Griffin had six points and four rebounds, and Ward had five assists for the half.

The second half was a different story as back to back to back three-pointers by the Griffins gave them a 36-34 lead at the 17:10 mark.   Webster would tie it us at 40-40, with 12:20 remaining, but Fontbonne pulled back ahead, 46-40, and the Gorloks would never see another lead in the contest.

Fontbonne extended its lead to 57-44 with 6:40 left, culminating a 30-10 advantage of an 11 minute span.  Webster crawled within five points of Fontbonne, trailing 61-55 with 2:02 remaining in the game, but a Griffin layup at 1:20 sealed the deal. 

The Griffins wound up a scorching 10-14 from the three-point line (71%) and were 11-13 (85%) from the free throw line, with all the free throws coming in the second half.  Webster was only 3-16 (19%) from beyond the arc and were outrebounded, 41-31, despite an 11-1 edge in blocked shots.  The Gorloks also had only nine turnovers to the Griffins 17, but in the end Fontbonne's timely shooting was the difference.

Griffin wound up with nine points, 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots for the game.  Smith had a team-high 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.  The senior duo played their final game for the Gorloks, both earning SLIAC All-Conference honors for the season (see accompanying story).

Ward had 10 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots on the night, and Moore wound up with 12 points and five rebounds.

The Gorloks are now 8-16 in SLIAC Tournament play.  Webster was unable to recreate the magic of the 2013-14 season when the team went on the road and snatched the championship at #1 seed Spalding University (KY).

Fontbonne will face Spalding in the championship.   Spalding was a 72-71 winner of MacMurray College (IL) in a thriller in the first semi-final of the evening. The SLIAC championship game is set for 7:00 p.m. on February 28 at Grant Gymnasium.