The Webster University men's basketball team kept pace in the hunt for first place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with an 88-77 win over Eureka College, on February 1 in Eureka, IL.  The Gorloks fifth straight win left them at 9-4 in the conference, a half game behind leaders Greenville College and Westminster College at 9-3, and tied for second with Iowa Wesleyan University.

Webster came out of the gate with a 7-0 lead and still led, 10-3 at 15:49 in the first half.  Eureka would tie the game at 12-12, at 11:49, before both teams went three plus minutes without a score.  A Xavier Dortch (SR, Stockton, AL/Faulkner St) three-pointer at 6:55 gave Webster a 17-14 lead.  Eureka went on a 13-3 run to take a 27-22 lead at 2:24.

After another three by Dortch and lay up by Tehvynn Crenshaw (SR, Mobile, AL/Murphy), a three-pointer by Jonathan Odjo (SR, West Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast) at the buzzer sent Webster into the locker room with a 30-29 lead.

The Gorloks shot a cool 33% (11-33) for the half but were 5-10 (50%) from beyond the arc.  Webster held Eureka, with the two highest scorers in the conference, to 30.6% (11-36) for the half. 

Webster started the second half on a 7-0 run, finished off by a Rabasa Dobbins-Turner (SR, Memphis, TN/St. Benedict at Auburndale) three-pointer.  Another Dobbins-Turner three at 14:59 made it a 10-point Webster lead.  A Dortch three-pointer at 7:40 gave the Gorloks their largest lead in the contest at 62-49, and a C.J. Moore (SR, Homestead, FL/Miami Killian) lay up at 5:49 made it a 15-point lead at 67-52.

Despite Dortch hitting another pair of threes in a 26 second span, the Red Devils wouldn't go away, hitting several threes of their own.  But Eureka was forced to foul Webster, and the Gorloks responded with eight straight free throws and 11 of 12 to end the game.  Webster shot 17-27 (63%) for the second half, finishing at 46.7% for the game.

Moore finished with a team-high 22 points, on 6-10 shooting, and 10-11 from the free throw line.  Dortch had 20 points on 7-11 shooting including 6-8 from beyond the arc.  Dortch is averaging 17.4 points per game over his last seven contests and his season average is up to 13.1.  Dobbins-Turner had 15 points and six rebounds on the night.

Evan Milligan (SO, Evansville, IN/Evansville Central) had his third double double on the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds.  Tony Jones (SR, Raymore, MO/Raymore-Peculiar), after being held scoreless in the first half, finished in double figures with 10, and had seven rebounds and two blocks.

With its five-game win streak, all in conference play, Webster is 12-8 overall on the season.  Webster avenged an earlier loss to Eureka on January 9 at Grant.  The Red Devils fall to 6-6 and 12-6 overall.

Webster hosts Iowa Wesleyan on February 4 at Grant Gym.  It is Hall of Fame Day as the Webster Athletics Hall of Fame will induct five new members that evening.  The inductees will be introduced at half time of the men's game.