The Webster University men's basketball team picked up a much-needed conference road win as it defeated MacMurray College, 71-53, on January 10 in Jacksonville, IL. The Gorloks improved to 4-3 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as it hangs with the pack bunched up in the middle of the standings. Webster is tied for fifth, but just one game out of second place.
The Gorloks took command in the first half, entering the locker room with a 36-24 advantage. A much more raucous crowd, than was on hand for the women's game earlier, saw Webster shoot 42.7% to MacMurray's 27%. Wilcox (FR, Alpharetta, GA/Centennial) led the Gorloks with 10 points and three rebounds for the session.
The Highlanders closed some in the second, but the Gorloks kept them in a double digit deficit, with a 48-38 lead with 13:00 left in the second half. Webster was still up, 52-40, with 7:33 to go. With 4:50 left in the contest, MacMurray was called for a technical with the score 55-44. Michael Dunn (SR, Tallahassee, FL/Lawton Chiles) went to the line and cooly sank both to give Webster a 57-44 lead.
The Gorloks, in particular Josh Johnson (SO, St. Louis, MO/Clayton) hit their free throws down the stretch as Webster led 62-49 with 3:24 remaining. A Highlander three-pointer cut the lead to 62-53 at 2:20, but once again Johnson extended the lead back to 11 with a pair of free throws, 64-53. Webster continued to break MacMurray's full court press to hang on for the 71-53 win.
Johnson wound up 7-9 from the free throw line as Webster as a team went 20-28 (71.4%). Webster wound up only at 37.1% (23-62) from the field for the game but kept the Highlanders at an icy 25% (20-80), including an Antartic 5-32 (15.6%) from the three-point line. MacMurray had a whopping 63 rebounds in the game compared to Webster's 41, but its shooting negated that advantage. Webster also only committed nine turnovers to MacMurray's 19. Webster had a 23-12 edge in points off turnovers. The Gorloks had a season-high 14 steals in the contest.
Wilcox finished with team-highs with 17 points, on 7-9 shooting, and seven rebounds. Enrique Tankins (SO, Wentzville, MO/Timberland) had nine points, six rebounds, and a team-high six assists. Christian Crespo (FR, Royal Palm Beach/Royal Palm Beach) with 11 and Davian Joseph (SR, Philadelphia, PA/Lewis & Clark CC) with 10 each had double figures in points.
Webster's top four scorers on the season are freshmen and sophomores, led by Crespo's 14.0 on his inaugural collegiate season.
Webster is 4-3 in the SLIAC and 7-7 overall. MacMurray leads the all-time series between the two teams 30-27.
The Gorloks return home on January 13 to host Blackburn College in the SLIAC 'Game of the Week' at Grant Gymnasium.
