ELSAH, Ill. – This afternoon the Webster University men's basketball team was back in action when they traveled across the river to take on the Principia (Ill.) College Panthers for a SLIAC matchup. The Gorloks defeated the Panthers by a final score of 83-73 to improve to 6-17 on the season and 4-8 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 9-11 on the year and 5-6 in SLIAC play.

Webster went 35-for74 (47.3%) from the floor and 5-for-12 (41.7%) from behind the arc. They shot the ball particularly well in the second half as they knocked down 23 field goals in the period while shooting 62.2% from the floor. They outrebounded the Panthers by a final count of 42-29 and forced them to turn the ball over 10 times in the game. The Gorloks also dished out 11 assists in the game and had 17 second chance points.

The Gorloks came out in the first half and found themselves trailing 8-3 in the first five minutes of the game. They scored the next five points to tie the score at eight, but a 18-10 run from the Panthers put them up 26-18 with six minutes to play in the half. The Gorloks cut the lead back down to six, but another run from Principia put them up 38-24 in the final minute of the period. Webster finished the half with a 5-2 run and the Panthers took a 40-29 lead into the locker room.

The Panthers came out of the break and quickly pushed their lead back out to 14. However, the Gorloks picked it up as the half progressed and answered with an 18-6 run over the next few minutes to cut the Panthers lead to 49-47 with 14 minutes to play. Webster continued to battle and were able to tie the score at 60 before taking their first lead of the second half with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest. The Gorloks pushed their lead out to 10 down the final stretch of the half and held off the Panthers to pick up their sixth win of the season.

Markus Becton was the leading scorer for Webster as he finished with a team high 12 points to go along with nine rebounds. Karl Moore Jr. also played well as he finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. In addition, Bryce Woolridge and Mark Moore both finished with 11 points while Wynne Brown Jr. and Jason Coleman both added nine points.

The Gorloks are back in action on Thursday, February 17^th when they play host to the Spalding (Ky.) University Golden Eagles for a SLIAC matchup. This game will serve as Senior Night for the Gorloks and prior to the start of the game we will honor the three seniors on the team for their hard work and dedication to the basketball program. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium.