BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Wednesday's men's basketball showdown in Fulton, Mo., between Webster University and Westminster College as been tabbed as this week's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Game of the Week. Tip-off for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Henry P. Iba Court in Historic Gym on the Westminster College campus.
The game will feature a match-up between two of the top four teams in the SLIAC Men's Basketball standings as Webster comes into the contest sitting in a tie with Greenville for first place in the league with an 11-2 record, while Westminster comes into the game sitting in a tie for third place with Spalding with a 9-5 league mark. Overall, Webster is sporting a 15-5 record this season and has won five of its last six and nine of its last 11 games overall, while Westminster has a 10-11 record and has won two of its last three and five of its last eight games overall since suffering a 78-58 loss at Webster on Jan. 5.
In addition, the game will be the second meeting this season between the two teams as Webster picked up a 78-58 home win over the Blue Jays on Jan. 5.
Webster comes into the game fresh off an 86-69 loss on Saturday at Eureka that snapped its season high five game win streak, while Westminster fell 74-67 at Spalding to snap its two game win streak. Since these two teams met each other on Jan. 5, they have combined to post a 10-5 record as Webster is 5-2 and Westminster is 5-3. Webster's two losses came at Blackburn in double overtime (96-92) and at Eureka (86-69) and Westminster's losses came at Iowa Wesleyan 75-59), at Spalding (74-67) and at home to Blackburn (66-63).
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At a Glance
This week's SLIAC Game of the Week pits one team looking to stay in first place in the conference standings and another looking to hold onto a playoff spot. Webster is currently tied for first place in the SLIAC standings and is vying for the right to host the conference tournament. Meanwhile, Westminster comes in tied for 3rd place in the standings and looking to hold onto their one-game lead for the final conference tournament spot.
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Webster University 'GORLOKS'
Webster comes into the game with a 15-5 overall record and an 11-2 mark in the SLIAC. They are coming off an 86-69 loss to Eureka last Saturday which ended a five-game winning streak.
The Gorloks are averaging 76.7 points per game this season and lead the conference with a +4.7 rebound margin. They have scoring depth with four players averaging in double figures, led by junior guard Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) at 18.4 points per game. Junior guard Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) is averaging 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, while sophomore forward Nigel Wilcox (Alpharetta, Ga./Centennial) is a force inside at 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game with a conference-high 54 blocked shots.
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Westminster College 'BLUE JAYS'
Westminster is currently 10-11 overall and 9-5 in the SLIAC. They dropped a 74-67 decision to Spalding last weekend and wrap up their home games this season with contests against Webster and Principia this week.
The Blue Jays are averaging 74.9 points per game while limiting their opponents to just 74.7 points per game. Romo Tabb and Kobe Wands are the top two scoring options for the team. Tabb, a forward, averages 17.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while Wands, a guard, averaged 14.7 points per game. Stu Hollandsworth occupies the inside and averages 9.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
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Last Meeting
Webster topped Westminster 78-58 back on January 5 with the Gorloks pulling away in the second half. Webster led just 33-30 at halftime but put up 45 second-half points in the win. The Gorloks shot 53-percent in the game and were led by Tankins' 22 points. Westminster shot just 36-percent and was led by Romo Tabb with 24 points.
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Game Notes
- Webster leads the all-time series against Westminster 33-32.
- Webster is trying to secure hosting the SLIAC Tournament for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
- Westminster has made a conference-best 19 SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournaments.
- Webster's Wilcox has moved into the Top 10 in SLIAC history for blocked shots with 112 in his two-year career. He needs just five more to pass his high of 58 last year, which was the second most by a Gorlok in a season.
- Earlier this season Romo Tabb joined the 1,000 point club; becoming the 21st player to do so as a Blue Jay. His total of 1144 points currently ranks him 14th in program history.
