The Webster University men's basketball team could not overcome a slow start as it lost its St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener, 84-55, at Westminster College, on November 29 in Fulton, MO.  The 'young' Gorloks put up a fight as the re-worked roster continues to find its way.

The Gorloks dug themselves into a huge hole in the first half.  Westminster took a 30-7 lead at the 11:34 mark, concluding a 16-0 run by the Blue Jays, after they had opened the contest with a 14-6 lead before it was interrupted by a Gorloks free throw at 15:14.  The Blue Jays would end the half up, 47-22.

To the Gorloks' credit, they didn't fold up the tents in the second half.  Webster made six of its first eight shots in the first five minutes of the half to cut the deficit to 17, at 53-36.  Enrique Tankins (SO, Wentzville, MO/Timberland) helped get the Webster offense going with a pair of layups and a three-pointer, and Josh Johnson (SO, St. Louis, MO/Clayton) also had a three in the run.

The Gorloks had lit a fire under their offense but the Blue Jays settled down and began matching them basket for basket, keeping Webster at a safe distance.  Westminster turned a 63-44 lead at 9:46 into a 72-46 lead as the Blue Jays put their pedal to the metal to finish out the contest.

Webster wound up shooting a respectable 45.3% (24-53) from the field but Westminster hit 31-58 shots (53.4%) and 12-26 (46.2%) three-pointers.  Webster finished at 3-10 (30%) beyond the arc.  The Blue Jays only had a slight edge in rebounds, at 29-25, but had a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint.

Tankins had a team-high 15 points on 7-11 shooting from the field.  Nigel Wilcox (FR, Alpharetta, GA/Centennial) had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.   

Webster is 0-1 in the SLIAC and 2-4 overall.  Westminster the conference tournament winner the last two years is 1-0 and 3-2 overall.  Webster holds a 32-28 edge in the series.

The Gorloks host Principia College (IL) on December 2 at Grant Gym, then Robert Morris-Peoria on December 7.