CLAYTON - The Webster University used a 12-2 run over the final three-plus minutes of Saturday's game here against Fontbonne University to post a 79-73 victory in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Mabee Gymnasium on the Fontbonne campus.

The Gorloks closing run was keyed by five straight points from freshman forward Nigel Wilcox (Alpharetta, Ga./Centennial) and sealed by a 3-pointer from senior guard Parker Van Nest (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) with 53 seconds left to extend its win streak to two straight games and improve to 10-9 overall and 7-5 in the SLIAC.

Trailing 71-67 with 3:24 left in the game, the Gorloks began its run on a bucket by Wilcox with 3:08 left in the game. After Fontbonne's Kris McCann missed a shot, the Gorloks would use a 3-point play by Wilcox to take a 72-71 lead with 2:24 remaining. 

On the ensuing Fontbonne (3-16 overall, 1-11 SLIAC) possession, sophomore guard Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) collected a steal and drove the length of the floor and hit a lay-up to push WU's lead to 74-71 with 1:58 left in the contest. After two free throws with 90 seconds left by Erich Schark dropped the Gorloks lead to a point at 74-73, Van Nest would drill a three-pointer with 50 seconds left to give Webster a 77-73 advantage. The Gorloks would then hit 2-of-4 free throws over the final 12 seconds to seal the win in the team's 'Battle of Big Bend' contest. 

Wilcox led the way offensively for the Gorloks as he tallied 21 points and blocked four shots. In addition to Wilcox, three other Gorloks posted double figures as freshman guard Christian Crespo (Royal Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach) and sophomore guard Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) each had 14 points, while Tankins had 10 points and a game-high five assists. 

For the game, both teams took the same amount of field goals (62) and each shot 45.2 percent from the floor, but the Gorloks made two more 3-pointers and four more free throws for the game. Webster was 5-for-16 from long distance and connected on just 18 of 30 free throws, including making just 10 of 16 in the second half. Fontbonne struggled at the line on the night as they were 14-for-25 (56 percent). 

Fontbonne jumped out early in Saturday's game as they scored 15 of the game's first 22 points to hold a 15-7 lead just a little under five minutes into the contest. In fact, the Griffins led for much of the first half until the Gorloks used a 10-4 run over the final four minutes of the opening half to take a 35-34 halftime lead. 

Webster's run was keyed by three points apiece from Crespo and freshman guard Elijah Macias (San Antonio, Texas/Medina Valley) and capped by a lay-up from freshman guard/forward Rodson Etienne (West Palm Beach, Fla../Royal Palm Beach). 

The Gorloks, though, would get hot in the early going of the second half as they scored 22 of the first 40 points to take a 57-52 lead following a basket by Tankins with 11:01 remaining in the contest. 

From that point, Fontbonne began to chip away at WU's lead as they used an 8-2 run capped b y a basket from Kris McCann to take a 60-59 lead with 7:16 left in the game. McCann led the way for the Griffins with 20 points, including tallying 14 of those points after halftime. 

Fontbonne's lead grew to 63-59 with 6:21 left, when the Gorloks answered with four straight points to tie the game at 63. The Griffins, though, responded with an 8-4 run capped by a lay-up from Jared Woodcock with 3:24 left to take a 71-67 lead before Webster began its closing run.

Along with McCann's 20 points, Schark added 10 points off the bench and Woodcock and Thomas Ritter each scored nine points in the loss. 

The Gorloks finished the ngiht with a 40-39 edge on the glass, including senior forward Davian Joseph (Philadelphia, Pa./Lewis & Clark C.C.) pulling down seven boards off the bench. Both teams took care of the ball as they combined for a total of 20 turnovers as Fontbonne had 12 and Webster finished with eight. It marked the second straight game with single-digit turnovers for the Gorloks as they had just nine in its 81-71 win Tuesday at Principia. 

Webster will look to run its win streak to three straight games as they host Eureka College in an 8 p.m. SLIAC match-up at Grant Gym. The Gorloks suffered an 80-71 loss earlier this season at Eureka. Eureka (13-6 overall, 8-4 SLIAC) comes into the game sitting in a tie for second place with Westminster in the SLIAC standings and is one game in front of the Gorloks, who are sitting alone in fourth place.