LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Webster University Men's Basketball used a 20-4 run over a span of nearly nine minutes in the second half here Saturday at Derek Smith Gymnasium to turn a 44-38 deficit into a 58-48 lead en route to helping the Gorloks earn a 66-56 win over Spalding in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.
 
The run was aided by a change in defense by the Gorloks as they switched from its usual man-to-man to a 2-3 zone scheme and that switch slowed down the Golden Eagles offense as they scored just 12 points over the final 15-plus minutes of the game. 
 
With the win, Webster moves to 8-3 on the year and remains undefeated in SLIAC play with a 4-0 record, while Spalding falls to 3-6 overall and 3-1 in the SLIAC. The 4-0 start in league play is the first for the Gorloks since the 2011-12 team opened SLIAC play with an 8-0 record. 
 
Saturday's game was a match-up between two of three remaining undefeated teams in the league. Greenville was the other undefeated team as the Panthers remained perfect following its 126-118 win Saturday at MacMurray. 
 
It appeared early on that Webster wouldn't need to change defenses as they sprinted out to a 21-5 lead just a little over nine minutes into the contest. The run was aided by eight points from junior guard Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton), who finished the game with 21 points and has now scored 20 or more points in a team best five games. Webster is 5-0 this season when Johnson scores 20 or more points. 
 
The Golden Eagles, though, would respond 17-1 run to pull within 22-19 following a trey by Robert Bendingfield with 6:47 left in the opening half. Webster would come right back and score nine of the next 14 points to extend its lead to 31-24 with 3:17 left in the half. 
 
Spalding, who had its four game win streak at home against the Gorloks snapped on Saturday, would outscore Webster, 11-2, over the final three minutes of the half to take a 35-33 lead at the half. The Golden Eagles would take its first lead of the game following a basket by Marcus Montgomery with 56 seconds left. Montgomery scored seven of SU's 11 points during the run.
 
Webster would open the second half by scoring the first three points thanks to a lay-up from sophomore forward Rodson Etienne (West Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach) and 1-of-2 free throws from sophomore forward Nigel Wilcox (Alpharetta, Ga./Centennial) to take a 36-35 lead just 63 seconds into the half. 
 
Spalding answered with a 9-2 run to push in front 44-38 following a basket by Bendingfield with 15:48 left in the game. Bendingfield scored 13 points in the loss for the Golden Eagles.
 
Bendingfield's bucket forced the switch in defenses by the Gorloks.
 
Following the switch to a zone defense, Webster would score on six of its next seven possessions to take 50-44 lead after a free throw by Wilcox with 10:41 remaining. Johnson and junior guard Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) combined to score nine of WU's 12 points. 
 
Tankins, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored six points after halftime and also pulled down seven boards in the win. 
 
Montgomery, who led the way for Spalding with 17 points, would halt WU's run with a lay-up at the 9:24 mark, but the Gorloks would answer by scoring eight straight points to push its lead to 58-46 with 6:35 left in the game. The run was capped by six straight points from Wilcox, who finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and ninth of his career. 
 
Spalding would score 10 of the game's final 18 points to cut Webster's winning margin to 10 points. 
 
In addition to Johnson and Wilcox, Etienne was the third Gorlok to score in double figures as he finished with 15 points and added six boards. 
 
Webster finished the game shooting 46 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line and held a 39-33 edge on the boards. 
 
The Gorloks also shot 70 percent (14-for-20) at the free throw line, including going 10-for-14 at the line in the second half. 
 
Webster's defense held Spalding to 39 percent shooting from the field and just 15 percent (3-for-20) from downtown. The Golden Eagles also struggled at the free throw line as they shot just 47 percent (7-for-15) from the charity stripe. 
 
Both teams committed 16 turnovers and the Gorloks blocked seven shots, including four by Wilcox to push his career total to 85 blocks and move him within three blocks of tying Evan Milligan's school record mark of 88 blocks. 
 
The Gorloks will now take 17 days off for final exams and the holidays before returning to action on Wednesday, Jan. 2 with a 7:30 p.m. game at Grant Gymnasium against Eureka College.