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 a SLIAC matchup. The Gorloks defeated the Beavers by a final score of 85-54 to improve to 11-11 on the season and 9-6 in conference play. With the loss, Blackburn drops to 8-14 on the season and 7-8 in conference play.

Webster went 33-for-70 (47.1%) from the floor and 7-for-18 (38.9%) from behind the arc. They outrebounded the Beavers by a final count of 46-36 with nine 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 13 assists while blocking seven shots.

The Gorloks got off to a great start in this one as they jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Beavers would cut the lead to six over the next few minutes, but a 26-12 run from Webster to end the half would put them up 42-22 at the break.

The Beavers came out of the locker room and went on a 12-2 run in the first three minutes to cut the Gorloks lead to 10. Webster settled in over the next few minutes and answered with a 20-7 run of their own to give themselves a 64-41 advantage with 10 minutes left to play. The Beavers would cut it back to 18 over the next few minutes, but the Gorloks would push their lead back out to 31 before cruising to their 11^th win of the year.

The Gorloks had 11 players find the scorebook including Alpha Diallo who finished with a career high 16 points to go along with five rebounds. Jason Coleman, Jemard Sykes II, and Karl Moore Jr. also finished in double figures as Coleman finished with 15 points and eight rebounds while Sykes II added 14 points and Moore Jr. had 10. In addition, Jalen Davis added nine points while Justin Ugo grabbed eight rebounds.

The Gorloks will return to the court on Saturday, February 10^th when they travel down Big Bend to take on the Fontbonne (Mo.) University Griffins for a SLIAC matchup. The game is set to start at 3 p.m.