St. Louis, MO 11/19/2022- The Blue Jays men's basketball team was back in action on Saturday for day 2 of the 2022 Webster Classic taking on the Central College Dutch. Westminster was looking to bounce back after losing to DePauw University Friday night and pick up their first win of the season. The Dutch looked to extend their winning streak to three games after taking down Webster University on Friday. Central would control the game from start to finish winning 72-59 to improve to 3-2 on the season. The Blue Jays fall to 0-4 on the young season, having played some very quality opponents.
Senior forward Jaxon Althaus (Oak Grove, Mo. / Oak Grove) would score his 1000th career point in the game. He is the 22nd Blue Jay to join the 1000-point club. Romo Tabb was the last player to do it in 2019.
The game would be tight for the first five minutes, with the Jays having their only lead of the game at 6-4. The Dutch would go on a 15-0 run with three straight three-pointers, to take a 19-6 lead. That thirteen-point lead would hold the rest of the half as the two teams would trade baskets back and forth. Central would lead Westminster 33-20 at halftime.
The Dutch started the second half on a 12 to 2 run to extend their lead to 45-22. From there the Blue Jays would work to chop down the lead to nine points with 8:23 left to play after a three from Brennan Jeffries (Jefferson City, Mo. / Jefferson City) cut it to 54-45. The Dutch would pull away again and win the game 72-59.
The Jays were led by Tre Kempker (Eugene, Mo. / Eugene) who came in off the bench but ended up playing twenty-six minutes, scoring a team-high 22 points and going 5-5 from the free throw line. He is shooting an outstanding 93% from the line so far this season. Althaus had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Ben Eberlin (Hardin, IL / Calhoun) scored 14 points, including two three-pointers.
Westminster will be back in action after the Thanksgiving break when they take on cross-town rival William Woods University at 7:00 PM from Anderson Arena on Monday, November 28th. That game will support Toys for Tots, monitor both Westminster Athletics and William Woods's social media channels to find out more information on how to support that noble cause.
