WEBSTER GROVES - Webster University opened up its 36th season of men's basketball here Friday evening, but it is an opener they would like to soon forget as the Gorloks were outscored 44-24 in the second half en route to suffering a disappointing 77-55 defeat to Illinois College in non-conference action at Grant Gymnasium.

The Gorloks came into Friday's season opener looking to get off to a strong start to the 2019-20 season as Webster returned four starters from last season's school record tying 20 win campaign and were picked as the preseason favorite to repeat as the regular season champion in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coaches poll. 

But it was Illinois College, who was tabbed to finish seventh in the Preseason Midwest Conference Coaches' poll, that got the season started on the right foot as the Blue Boys shot 62 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line in the second half to turn its 33-31 halftime lead into a runaway as IC led by as much as 25 points in the second half. 

The 55 points by the Gorloks was their lowest output in a season opener since scoring 49 points in a 67-49 loss at Monmouth (Ill.) College to open the 2014-15 season. 

Webster opened the 2018-19 season with an 82-75 come-from-behind win at Illinois College and has now won just one of its last five season openers. 

In Friday's opener, Webster got off to a slow start as they trailed by as much as 16 points at 24-8 just a little more than nine minutes into the contest. The Gorloks, though, would respond with a 23-6 run that gave them a 31-30 lead following a trey from senior guard Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) with 42 seconds left in the opening half. The lead was the only one of the game for the home team.

The Gorloks run was fueled by a change from a man-to-man to a zone defense and that defensive change helped the Gorloks force the Blue Boys into six turnovers and also make the visitors miss 13 of its next 15 field goal attempts, before IC closed the half with a three-pointer by Trevor Otten with 11 seconds left before halftime. 

During Webster's run, Johnson, junior forward Rodson Etienne (West Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach) and junior guard Elijah Macias (San Antonio, Texas/Medina Valley) combined to each score five points apiece. 

Johnson paced the Gorloks offense on the night as he tallied 12 points and added three rebounds and three assists, but was just 5-for-12 from the field and did not make a trip to the free throw line in his 24 minutes of action. Last season, Johnson shot 144 free throws and averaged nearly six free throw attempts per game. In fact, on the night, Webster shot just nine free throws as they were 4-for-9 (44 percent) from the foul line. 

In addition to Johnson's 12 points, Etienne added 10 points and three boards, while Macias and senior guard Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) combined for 13 points as Macias had seven and Hopp scored six. 

After shooting 52 percent from the field in the first half, Webster cooled off in the second half as they made just nine of its 30 second half field goal attempts as they shot 30 percent from the field after halftime. 

After Tre Rogers gave IC a 36-31 following his trey just 41 seconds into the second half, Gorlok junior forward Ethan Hughes (Union, Mo./Park University) answered right back with a trey of his own just 22 seconds later to push the Gorloks within two points at 36-34. In fact, both teams would open the second half by scoring eight points each in the first two-plus minutes. 

Following a trey by Johnson brought WU within a basket at 41-39, the Blue Boys used a 22-7 run over the next 10-plus minutes to push its lead to 63-46. During the run, Rogers and Jake Mazrimas combined to score 11 of IC's points as Rogers tallied seven and Mazrimas added six. 

Rogers paced the Blue Boys with 19 points, including 16 of them in the second half in his IC debut. Along with Rogers, Mazrimas added 16 points and 15 rebounds, including six points and eight boards after halftime, and Deandre Enochs had 13 points in the win. 

Senior forward Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) stopped IC's run with a basket with 7:38 left in the game, but that would be as close as the Gorloks would get as the Blue Boys responded with a 14-6 run to turn a 63-48 game into a 77-52 rout with 2:18 remaining. The Gorloks would score the final three points of the game on 1-of-2 free throws by Hughes and two free throws from freshman forward Javane Nugent (Sunrise, Fla./Piper), who was making his collegiate debut on Friday. 

For game, IC shot 49 percent from the field and 50 percent (13-for-26) from the 3-point line, while Webster finished the game shooting 40 percent from the floor and 31 percent from the 3-point line. 

The Blue Boys also held a 40-29 edge on the boards and forced the Gorloks into 15 turnovers that led to 18 points. Webster turned 14 IC turnovers into 21 points, including scoring 16 points off 10 first half turnovers by the Blue Boys. 

IC blocked five shots to two for Webster, while the Blue Boys dished out 19 assists and Webster had 16. 

Senior guard Jordan Clay (St. Louis, Mo./Blackburn College) led Webster in rebounding with six boards and also had a game high three steals and added three assists. 

The Gorloks will look to get into the win column this coming Tuesday, Nov. 12 as they host Missouri Baptist in a 7 p.m. match-up at Grant Gymnasium. Last season, MBU won 28 games and advanced to the NAIA Division I National Championships in Kansas City, Mo., and earned an 85-64 win over the Gorloks on its home court.