The Webster University men's basketball team took a comfortable halftime lead, but had to stave off a late rally to defeat Principia College, 70-68, on January 24 at Grant Gym. Webster, after a rough free throw shooting performance its previous outing, hit its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Principia tied the game at 60-60 at 3:11 in the second half, but Tony Jones had a lay up at the other end for Webster to regain the lead. After a Panther turnover, C.J. Moore had a lay up at 2:02 to make it a four-point Gorlok lead. After a pair of Panther free throws, Evan Milligan hit a jumper at 1:27 to extend the lead once again back to four, 66-62.
Principia wouldn't go away and a three-pointer at 0:32 made it 66-65. Principia fouled four straight times on the Webster inbound before putting the Gorloks in the bonus. Xavier Dortch (SR, Stockton, AL/Faulkner St.) sank both his free throws at 0:27 for a three-point lead, 68-65. A Milligan steal of a Principia inbound at 0:16 led to a foul on Jonathan Odjo, who sank both throws for a 70-65 lead.
The Panthers had one last gasp, hitting a three with 0:09 on the clock. Rabasa Dobbins-Turner was fouled immediately and went to the line and missed, but a Principia pass for a possible three was snatched by Odjo and Webster had the win.
After the shootout at Greenville three days earlier, Webster showed it could play a controlled style of play to its advantage as well. Webster took a 9-1 lead to open the contest and still led, 15-3, at 14:33 on a Milligan (SO, Evansville, IN/Evansville Central) jumper. The Gorloks maintained a 10-point plus margin and were ahead 22-8 on a Jones (SR, Raymore, MO/Raymore-Peculiar) jumper at 7:37. Webster would maintain its 10-point bulge throughout, leading 37-24 at the half.
Moore (SR, Homestead, FL/Miami Killian) led Webster will 11 points at the half, shooting 5-8 from the field. Milligan had seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. It took Webster two minutes in the second half to add a score, when Jones hit a basket at 18:00. The Panthers dug into the lead, trailing 41-34, when Jones drained a three at 15:40, to make it 44-34. As Principia kept chipping at the lead, Enrique Tankins (FR, Wentzville, MO/Timberland), fresh into the game, hit three straight jumpers for Webster, but the Panthers pulled within 54-50 at 8:34.
After a Webster timeout, Dobbins-Turner (SR, Memphis, TN/St. Benedict at Auburndale) hit a jumper to make it a six-point lead, but Principia responded with a lay up to inch back to four at 7:14. A Tankins rebound and put back at 5:58 make it a six-point lead but once again the Panthers responded...this time with a basket and a three-pointer to edge within one, 58-57 at 4:56. Odjo (SR, West Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast) hit a jumper to extend the lead to three, 60-57, setting up the exciting final three minutes of play.
Webster shot 41% (28-68) for the game and was 12-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line after hitting just 19-36 in its win at Greenville. The Panthers had a 39-38 edge on the boards, but had 15 turnovers to the Gorloks' stingy eight miscues.
Milligan finished with nine points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Moore had 13 points and three steals, and Jones had 13 points and four rebounds. Dobbins-Turner finished with 10 points.
Webster was a 65-62 winner over Principia in Elsah, IL, on December 3. Though there has been numerous close calls in the last few seasons, the Gorloks have a 29-game win streak vs. the Panthers, dating back to 2003.
Webster is 7-4 in the SLIAC in fourth place, and 10-8 overall. Principia falls to 4-6 and 5-10 overall. Webster continues play in the the SLIAC when it hosts Westminster College on January 28 at Grant Gym.
