COLUMBUS, Miss. – The Webster University men's basketball team was back in action this evening when they played host to the Mississippi University for Women Owls for a SLIAC matchup. The Gorloks defeated the Owls by a final score of 80-60 to improve to 12-12 on the season and 10-7 in conference play. With the loss, the Owls drop to 7-17 on the year and 3-14 in the conference.

Webster went 32-for-62 (51.6%) from the floor and 4-for-16 (25.0%) from behind the arc. They outrebounded the Owls by a final count of 41-39 with nine rebounds coming on the offensive end. Webster forced MUW to turn the ball over 13 times in the contest and turned those turnovers into 18 points on the other end of the floor. The Gorloks also dished out 25 assists while racking up 11 blocks.

In the first half of the game both sides came out and had a tough time getting in a rhythm early. With Webster trailing 7-6 with 17 minutes to play in the period, the Gorloks would go on a 24-12 run over the next 13 minutes to take a 28-19 lead with just under five minutes to play in the frame. The Owls would cut the lead to four over the next few minutes, but a 7-0 run from Webster to end the half put them up 37-26 at the break.

The Owls came out in the second half and started the period on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to five. Webster would answer with a 14-5 run to extend their lead back out to 14, but another run from the Owls over the next few minutes would cut the Gorloks lead to 10 midway through the half. Webster would answer with a 17-6  run to push their lead to 21, and held off the Owls down the stretch to solidify the win.

Jason Coleman led the way for the Webster as he finished with a career high 32 points while going 14-for-15 from the floor and grabbing six rebounds. Alpha Diallo and Justin Ugo also played well as Diallo finished with 12 points and four blocks while Ugo finished with 10 points and a team high eight rebounds. In addition, Allen Grahovic added seven points while Jemard Sykes II and Booker Simmons each had six.

The Gorloks will be back in action on Saturday, February 17^th when they host the Lyon (Ark.) College Scots for their final game of the regular season. This game will serve as Senior Day for the men's basketball team and we will honor the seniors on the team prior to tip-off. The game is set to start at 3 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium.