CLAYTON, Mo. - Webster University concluded the non-conference portion of its 2019-20 schedule here Tuesday evening by suffering an 80-58 setback to 15th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis at the WU Field House.
With the setback, Webster drops its third straight game to move its record to 1-6 on the season, while WashU improves to 5-1 on the year.
Perhaps the biggest difference in Tuesday's game was the disparity in shooting from the 3-point line as the Bears, who won its third straight game on Tuesday, went 14-for-31 from long distance, including making nine treys in the second half, while Webster made just four of its 19 3-point field goal attempts and were held to an 0-for-9 effort from the 3-point line in the second half.
In fact, WashU scored 27 of its 40 second half points from the 3-point line and held the Gorloks to just 26 points after halftime.
It appeared early on in Tuesday's game that Webster was ripe for the upset win as the Gorloks jumped out to an 8-0 lead just four minutes into the game and held the lead for a little over 12 minutes, before the Bears outscored Webster, 22-11, over the final seven-plus minutes of the first half to take a 40-32 lead at the half.
The win on Tuesday by WashU helped the Bears extract some revenge on the Gorloks as Webster picked up an impressive 72-64 win over the Bears at Grant Gymnasium last season and now leads the all-time series against the Gorloks, 24-3.
Junior forward
Rodson Etienne (West Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach) paced the Gorloks with 17 points, while senior forward
Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) added 13 points and senior guard
Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) tallied 10 points and has now scored in double figures in all seven games this season and 12 consecutive double-digit scoring games dating to last season.
Etienne, Johnson and Tankins combined for 24 of Webster's 32 first half points.
WashU's Jack Nolan was the main catalyst for the Bears offense in the second half as he was 6-for-8 from the 3-point line after halftime and tallied 18 of his team's 40 points, including hitting four consecutive treys to turn a 43-34 lead into a 55-39 advantage with 14:16 left in the game.
After a lay-up by Etienne stopped WashU's run with 13:32 left in the game, the Bears would respond with a 30-15 run over the next seven minutes to push its lead to 73-49. The run began with a lay-up from Hank Hunter and was capped by three straight treys, including two from Nolan, who finished with a game high 20 points. That 24 point lead was the largest of the game for the Bears.
The Gorloks, though, would score six straight points and eight of the next 10 points overall to cut WashU's lead to 75-57 following two free throws by Etienne with 2:40 left in the game. WashU would then close the game by outscoring the Gorloks, 5-1, to cap the victory.
In addition to Nolan's 20 points, Payden Webb scored a career high 15 points, all of which came in the first half, while Matt Nester added 12 pointys and six assists and Justin Hardy, who was named to the D3Hoops.com Team of the Week on Monday, had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Bears.
The Gorloks finished the game shooting 38 percent from the field and 21 percent from the 3-point line and was outrebounded, 41-27 as senior guard
Jordan Clay (St. Louis, Mo./Blackburn College) finished with team-high five boards for the Gorloks.
Webster forced WashU into 16 turnovers that led to 20 points, but had a season low six assists on the night. WashU had 17 assists on 29 made baskets and blocked three shots.
The Bears closed out the contest shooting 49 percent from the field and 45 percent from the 3-point line and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line. The Gorloks shot 67 percent (12-for-18) at the line.
Webster will now take nine days off before opening its 18 game St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule on Thursday, Dec. 5 with a 7:30 p.m. home game at Grant Gymnasium against Spalding University. The Gorloks swept both games last season from the Golden Eagles and Webster has won 12 straight regular season SLIAC games at home dating to the 2017-18 season.
