Box Score The Webster University men's basketball team had to overcome a 13-point second half deficit to nip Principia College, 69-67, on February 3 at Grant Gymnasium. The victory kept the Gorloks in the thick of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Conference battle for a post-season tournament berth.
After the Panthers maintained a 13-point lead for the first seven minutes of the second half, three-pointers by Danny Zehner (JR, St. Louis, MO/Oakville HS) and Hunter Ward (SO, St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood HS) cut the Principia lead to 49-42, at 12:55.
After a Principia timeout, the Panthers went on a 6-0 run to extend the lead back to 13 with 11:10 remaining, at 55-42. Webster made another run, cutting the lead to four, 63-59, on a Michael Dunn (FR, Tallahassee, FL/Lawton Chiles HS) layup and a steal and layup by C.J. Moore (SO, Homestead, FL/Miami Killian HS) with 6:30 left. A pair of Ward free throws and a Zehner put back of a missed shot, at 4:25, tied game at 63-63.
An Aaron Griffin (SR, Farm Haven, MS/Velma Jackson HS) jumper with 1:24 on the clock put the Gorloks on top, 68-67. After a miss of his first free throw with 21 seconds remaining, Moore hit the second to give Webster a 69-67 lead. A Principia three-pointer at the buzzer missed the mark and Webster was the winner.
Moore had two steals in the final 1:17 for the Gorloks to help thwart any Panther comeback.
The Panthers pulled ahead early in the first and kept the pressure on for the remainder of the half, taking a 39-26 lead into the intermission. Principia shot 52% (14-27) for the half, including 50% (6-12) from the three-point line. The Gorloks shot only 35% from the field (9-26) including 0-7 from beyond the arc.
Webster heated it up in the second half, shooting 55% (16-29), out rebounded Principia, and had six steals to the Panthers' one. The Gorloks had only 10 turnovers in the contest, their third lowest total of the season.
Griffin wound up with his sixth 'double-double' in his last nine games, scoring 12 points on 6-8 shooting and pulling down 10 rebounds. Griffin also handed out three assists in the contest.
Ward had a team-high 14 points in the second half, after sitting out the first, Ward was only 3-9 from the field, but a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Jonathan Odjo (SO, West Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast HS) came off the bench and scored 10 points, on 5-8 shooting, and had five rebounds.
Moore and Zehner both finished with seven points, with Zehner grabbing five rebounds and Moore four. Moore also had a team-high four steals, including the two crucial ones late in the game.
Webster now has won 25 straight games in the SLIAC vs. Principia, dating back to 2003. The Gorloks improved to 8-4 in the SLIAC, tying them for third place with Greenville College (IL). Webster is 12-7 overall on the season.
The Gorloks make the trek to Mt. Pleasant, IA, on February 7 to play Iowa Wesleyan College, and then take the short trip down Big Bend Blvd. on February 11 to take on Fontbonne University.
