Blackburn Men’s basketball was unable to mount a victory over Webster University on Wednesday evening. The Gorloks entered the game undefeated in conference play, and continued to demonstrate their dominance throughout the game, especially late in the second half. Webster defeated Blackburn by a final score of 70-59.
1st Half: Blackburn and Webster were neck and neck with each other for the entire half. The Beavers opened the game by going on a 7-0 run, forcing a timeout from the Gorloks. After recollecting themselves, Webster was able to stop the scoring run by Blackburn, and eventually creeped their way back into the game.
Neither team seemed to have an answer for the opposing defense during the first half. Blackburn and Webster were exchanging missed shots through the majority of the half, although a few shots from each team managed to find the net. As the clock winded down and led to halftime, Webster was leading Blackburn 35-30.
2nd Half: With a first half that saw stellar defense on both sides, the second half was nothing short of a replica of the first half. Neither team seemed to have an answer for each other’s defensive efforts. Blackburn tied the game at 41 briefly during the half, but Webster quickly retook the lead with a layup. However, as the first half demonstrated, Blackburn was not going to give up. Seven lead changes occurred during the second half, and six tie scores were recorded.
As the second half started coming to a close, Webster found themselves tied with Blackburn at 51. After a pair of free throws, Webster was up 53-51. A timeout from Blackburn gave the Beavers a chance to reconvene, however Webster went on a 15-0 scoring run during the final minutes of the half. They found themselves up 66-51 with nearly one minute left to play. Though valiant effort was given by the Beavers, Webster walked away with the win.
Webster’s Karl Moore continued to add to his impressive career block total, with five recorded blocks during tonight’s game. Other notables for the Gorloks included Wynne Brown Jr., who led Webster with thirteen points. Moore led with eleven rebounds, and Jason Coleman led the team in assists with five. Webster was 25-53 on field goals, 9-21 on threes, and 11-18 on free throws.
Blackburn was led by Chanz Aldridge who knocked down 19 points in the game. Troy Cole Jr. finished with 15, Cameron Johnson with nine, and Izayah Talmadge with eight. Blackburn shot 23-62 on field goals, 6-20 on three-pointers, and 7-7 on free throws.
Blackburn moves to an overall record of 6-12, and 2-5 in the SLIAC. The Beavers will get a brief break before beginning the second half of conference play, hosting Westminster College on Saturday, January 28th. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m.