WEBSTER GROVES - Webster University began its quest for its third-ever St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title in men's basketball here Thursday evening by posting a hard-fought 85-77 victory over No. 4 seeded Blackburn College in the second semifinal of the 2020 SLIAC Tournament at Grant Gymnasium. 

With the victory, Webster improves to 18-8 on the season and advances to a match-up on Saturday at 3 p.m. against No. 2 seeded Greenville in the tournament's championship game with a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament going to the winners. Along with improving to 18-8 on the season, Webster also extended its win streak to a season high 11 consecutive games. 

Thursday's game was the third meeting this season between the two schools and the second straight meeting in the SLIAC Tournament semifinals as Webster earned a 70-68 win at Grant Gymnasium over the Beavers in last year's tournament. 

Webster's win on Thursday was keyed from strong shooting from the perimeter as the Gorloks made 10 treys and shot 53 percent from long distance, including freshman guard Wynne Brown, Jr. (Memphis, Tenn./Bartlett) and senior guard Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) accounted for all 10 of the Gorloks' treys as Brown, Jr, who was named the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year before the game, went 6-for-8 from downtown and is 11-for-14 from the 3-point line over his last two games, while Johnson, who was named the SLIAC Player of the Year prior to Thursday's game. was 4-for-10 from downtown. 

With the hot shooting from the perimeter, Johnson and Brown, Jr., combined for 43 points as Johnson scored a game high 25 points, while Brown, Jr., added 18 points. With his 25 points, Johnson jumped two spots on the school's all-time scoring chart as he is now sixth in all-time scoring with 1,218 points. Johnson passed both Eric Stack and John Cooksey on Thursday as Stack scored 1,211 points from 1987-91 and Cooksey tallied 1,212 from 1991-94. 

The Gorloks needed every one of those 10 treys as they couldn't shake the Beavers until late in the game as Blackburn kept pace with Webster by making 11 treys as they were 11-for-29 from the 3-point line on the night. 

Webster, who led 45-36 at the half, watched Blackburn open the second half on a 15-9 run to cut the Gorloks nine point lead to just three at 54-51 following a lay-up by Nigel Ferrell. That run by the visitors seemed to wake up the Gorloks as they used an 11-2 run keyed by back-to-back treys from Brown, Jr. and capped by a lay-up from junior forward Ethan Hughes (Union, Mo./Park University) to push out to a 65-53 lead with 12 minutes left. 

Five straight points from Javon Stovall brought the Beavers within 65-58 with 9:19 remaining in the game. but the Gorloks would make one more push as they responded with a 16-11 run over the next eight-plus minutes to push its lead to 81-69 following two free throws by junior forward Rodson Etienne (West Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach). 

Blackburn, who ends its season with a 13-13 overall record, would close the game by scoring eight of the final 12 points to cut Webster's final margin to eight at 85-77. 

Along with Johnson's 25 and Brown, Jr.'s 18 points, Etienne added 15 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and third of his career, while guard Jordan Clay (St. Louis, Mo./Blackburn College) continued to wreak havoc on his former school as he scored 14 points and added a career high 12 rebounds for his second career double-double. In three games this season against his former school, Clay, who played for the Beavers from 2016-18, averaged 9.3 points and 11 rebounds per game. 

Webster has had four or more players score in double figures in 12 games this season and is 11-1 in those 12 games, including six consecutive games with four or more double-digit scorers. 

The Beavers, though, held Webster senior forward Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) as the First-Team All-SLIAC selection and the SLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, had five points and four rebounds. He entered Thursday's action averaging 14.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game and had recorded five consecutive double-doubles to close the regular season. 

Karson Hayes, who was named a repeat First-Team All-SLIAC selection, closed his collegiate career with 20 points, while Christian Wagner tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, including scoring 13 of those points in the first half and Stovall added 13 points. The fourth double-digit scorer for the Beavers was Bryson Kirby as he scored 10 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists. 

Blackburn jumped in front 8-4 in the opening three minutes and held the lead for a little over three minutes when the Gorloks responded with a 14-5 run to push out to an 18-13 lead following a trey from Brown, Jr. The Beavers, though, responded with a 15-10 run to tie the game at 28-all following a trey from David Lopez. 

That would be the final tie of the game as the Gorloks used a 17-6 run that began with lay-up from Johnson and was capped by a another lay-up from Johnson to push its lead to 45-34 with 37 seconds left in the half. Hayes would hit two free throws with 14 seconds left to cut WU's lead to 45-36 at the half. 

For the game, Webster shot 48 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line and held a 40-36 edge on the boards and dished out 20 assists on 29 made baskets, including a four by Etienne and three each from Tankins, Johnson and Brown, Jr.

The Beavers shot 42 percent from the field, 38 percent from long distance and 77 percent from the free throw line as the Beavers were 10-for-13 at the line. 

Both teams each had 12 turnovers and combined for four blocks each in the game. 

Webster will now look to secure its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014 this coming Saturday, Feb. 29 as the Gorloks will host Greenville for a 3 p.m. match-up in the championship game of the 2020 SLIAC Tournament. Greenville earned its spot in the title game thanks to its 164-148 win over No. 3 seeded Fontbonne in Thursday's first semifinal game.