FULTON, Mo. - Junior guard Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) hit a lay-up with 15 seconds left in the game to help Webster University men's basketball rally from an 11 point second half deficit en route to collecting a 77-74 win over Westminster College in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Game of the Week at Historic Gym on the Westminster campus.

Johnson's lay-up gave the Gorloks a 75-74 lead and after Kobe Wands missed his jumper from about 18 feet with three seconds left, junior guard Blake Ferrell (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to seal Webster's victory.

With the win, Webster moves its record to 16-5 overall and remains tied for first in the SLIAC with a 12-2 record, while Westminster fell to 10-12 overall and 9-6 in the league. The win also helped the Gorloks lock up one of the four spots into the SLIAC Tournament. 

Sophomore forward Nigel Wilcox (Alpharetta, Ga./Centennial) paced the Gorloks with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. The double-double was the ninth this season for Wilcox and the 15th of his career. In addition to Wilcox, Johnson and junior guard Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) each had 13 points and sophomore forward Rodson Etienne (West Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach) added 12 points in the win.

After trailing 35-34 at the half, Westminster used eight straight points from Stu Hollandsworth and a four-point play thanks to a trey a free throw from Wands to take a 46-42 lead just a little over four minutes into the second half. The run came after Webster opened the half with back-to-back lay-up from Hopp and junior guard Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland). Tankins had nine points and eight boards before fouling out late in the game.

Following Wands' four point play, Hopp would drill a trey to bring the Gorloks within a point at 46-45. The Blue Jays, though, would respond with a 15-5 run to push its lead to 61-50 with 10:50 remaining in the game. All but two of Westminster's points during the run were scored by Romo Tabb (9) and Carter Wands (5). 

Webster began its comeback after Steven Brandt hit a lay-up with 10:50 left in the game as they scored six straight points to pull within 61-57. The Blue Jays would use baskets by Kobe Wands and Tabb to extend its lead to 65-59 with 7:40 remaining. 

The Gorloks would then score 10 of the next 15 points to pull within 70-69 after Wilcox hit 1-of-2 free throws with 2:42 left. On the ensuing possession, Hollandsworth gave WC a 72-69 lead with 2:29 and then Wilcox scored on a dunk with 2:14 left to bring the Gorloks back within a point at 72-71. 

Hollandsworth would score on another lay-up with 1:55 left to give the Blue Jays a 74-71 edge. After both teams would turn the ball over on their next possessions, Hopp would drill two free throws with 52 seconds left to drop WC's lead to 74-73. On the Blue Jays next possession, Wilcox would collect a steal on a turnover by Carter Wands. That would would eventually lead to Johnson's go-ahead lay-up with 15 seconds remaining. 

In the first half, Webster jumped out to a 12-6 lead just five minutes into the contest and led 14-8 when the Blue Jays used a 12-2 run to take a 20-14 lead with 9:41 left in the half. WU would scored six of the next eight points to pull within 22-20. 

After Makygh Galbreath hit a lay-up with 7:17 to give WC a 24-20 lead, the Gorloks answered with a 9-3 run capped by a Wilcox tip-in to push out to a 29-27 lead. Galbreath would hit a trey on the next Blue Jay possession to retake the lead at 30-29, before WU closed the half on a 6-4 run to take a 35-34 lead into the locker room. 

For the game, Webster shot 53 percent from the field, including shooting 58 percent from the floor in the second half and was 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from the 3-point line. Westminster shot 46 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line in the loss.

Hollandsworth and Kobe Wands each tallied 18 points for the Blue Jays, while Tabbed added 16 points. Brandt and Galbreath each had eight points for Westminster. 

Webster held a 38-26 edge on the glass, but committed 14 turnover that led to 15 points for the Blue Jays. Westminster committed just seven turnovers in the contest.

The Gorloks finished 12-for-15 (80 percent) at the free throw line, while Westminster shot just 58 percent (7-for-12) from the line. 

Webster will look to make it two straight wins on Saturday, Feb. 9 as they host Blackburn College (11-11 overall, 8-7 SLIAC) in a 3 p.m. SLIAC game at Grant Gymnasium. Blackburn earned a 96-92 double overtime win over the Gorloks on their home court on Jan. 9.