ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University men's basketball team was back in action this evening when they played host to the Blackburn (Ill.) College Beavers for their SLIAC Quarterfinal matchup. The fourth seeded Gorloks defeated the fifth seeded Beavers by a final score of 59-50 to advance to the SLIAC Men's Basketball Semifinals. With the loss, the Beavers season comes to an end with a 9-17 overall record and an 8-10 mark in conference play.

Webster went 22-for-60 (36.7%) from the floor and 4-for-21 (19.0%) from behind the arc. They outrebounded the Beavers by a final count of 49-35 with 19 rebounds coming on the offensive end. Webster forced Blackburn to turn the ball over 14 times in the game and turned those turnovers into 19 points on the other end of the floor. Webster also dished out 11 assists while blocking eight shots.

In the first half, Webster got off to a slow start as the Beavers raced out to a 16-4 lead in the first eight minutes of the game. The Gorloks had a tough time finding the basket and found themselves trailing by 15 with seven minutes to play in the half. Webster would pick it up as the half progressed and ended the period on a 14-4 run capped off by a buzzer beater three from Jemard Sykes II to cut the Beavers lead to 28-23 at the break.

The Gorloks carried their momentum over into the second half and started the period on an 11-1 run to give themselves a five-point lead. They grew their lead out to as many as eight over the next few minutes, but a 15-8 run from Blackburn would cut the lead to one with just over three minutes to play. The Gorloks would answer back and end the game on an 8-0 run, not allowing the Beavers to score a point in the final three minutes of the contest, to solidify their spot in the SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals.

Allen Grahovic led the way for Webster as he finished with a game high 12 points. Jemard Sykes II and Karl Moore Jr. also played well as Sykes II finished with 11 points and seven rebounds while Moore Jr. added eight points and a game high 13 rebounds. Moore Jr. also blocked three shots to go along with three blocked shots from Alpha Diallo.

The Gorloks will return to the court on Thursday, February 22^nd when they travel down Big Bend to take on the top seeded Fontbonne (Mo.) University Griffins in the SLIAC Men's Basketball Semifinals. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.