WEBSTER GROVES - Webster University Men's Basketball found its shooting touch in the second half here Thursday evening as the Gorloks shot 58 percent from the field en route to posting a 75-64 win over Spalding in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Grant Gymnasium.

The 58 percent shooting in the second half helped Webster hold off the Golden Eagles and improve its record to 12-10 overall and 9-6 in the SLIAC and move into sole possession of fourth place in the league standings with three regular season games remaining.

For the game, the Gorloks shot 53 percent from the floor and 43 percent from the 3-point line and had four players score in double figures, including freshman Nigel Wilcox (Alpharetta, Ga./Centennial) leading the way with a game-high 19 points, including scoring 11 of those points after halftime. 

In addition to Wilcox's 19 points, freshman guard Elijah Macias (San Antonio, Texas/Medina Valley) added a career-high 12 points off the bench, while senior forward Davian Joseph (Philadelphia, Pa./Lewis & Clark CC) and freshman guard Austin Nation (Oklahoma City, Okla./Purcell) each recorded 10 points in the victory.

After leading 36-33 at the half, the Gorloks watched Spalding (8-13 overall, 6-9 SLIAC) open the second half on an 8-6 run to pull within a point at 42-41. The Golden Eagles run was capped by a trey from Marcus Montgomery with 17:30 left in the game. 

Following Spalding's run to open the second half, the Gorloks answered with a 26-9 run over the next 12-plus minutes to push out to a 68-50 advantage. The run was keyed by a combined 13 points from Joseph (7 points) and Wilcox (6 points). In fact, Joseph scored the final three points of the run on a free throw and a basket with 5:28 left in the game. 

Spalding would stop the Gorloks with two free throws by Rick Dunnavan with 5:08 remaining, but, Webster would come right back by scoring five of the next nine points to increase its lead back to 17 at 73-56 with 3:18 remaining. The Golden Eagles would close the game by outscoring the Gorloks, 8-2, to complete the scoring. 

Brendan Holt paced Spalding offensively on the night with 12 points off the bench, while Dominique Ellis chipped in with 10 points in the loss. 

It appeared early on in Thursday's game that Spalding would run away with the game as they jumped out to a 19-8 lead just six-plus minutes into the contest. In fact, the Golden Eagles led for  the first 18-plus minutes of the first half until the Gorloks took its first lead on a jumper by Wilcox with 1:12 left in the half. Wilcox's basket completed a 10-0 run by the Gorloks. The run was keyed by two treys from Nation. 

Webster would add to its lead on another basket by Wilcox with 35 seconds left to give the Gorloks its 36-33 halftime lead.

While the Gorloks shot 53 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line, Spalding connected on 38 percent of its field goals and hit 10 treys as they shot 56 percent (10-for-18) from long distance. In fact, 24 of Spalding's 33 first half points came from the 3-point line as they were 8-for-10 from downtown in the opening half. 

The Gorloks held a 38-28 edge on the boards as Joseph led the way with nine boards and he added a career-high five assists. Wilcox finished with eight rebounds and blocked five shots to increase his season total to 50. With his 50 blocks this year, Wilcox moves into third on the school's single-season blocked shot chart. 

WU recorded nine blocks on the night and dished out 25 assists on its 29 made baskets. The Golden Eagles had 15 assists for the game.

The Gorloks will be right back in action in less than 48 hours as they conclude the home portion of its schedule with a 3 p.m. SLIAC game against MacMurray (11-11 overall, 7-8 SLIAC). Prior to Saturday's game, the Gorloks will honor its four member senior class in a pregame ceremony.