Columbus, MS 1/20/2024- The Westminster College men's basketball team finished their trip to the southern United States by taking on the Mississippi School for Women (MUW). The Blue Jays found themselves down 10 points with 7 minutes left to play. They would rally to come back and win the game 80-75. It is Westminster's first road win in two seasons and the Blue Jays improve to 3-14 on the season and 3-7 in the SLIAC at the midway point of the conference season. MUW falls to 6-10 on the season and 2-7 in the SLIAC.
The Blue Jays started the game with a 4-0 lead before the Owls tied it up at 6-6. It would be a back-and-forth game for forty minutes. There were 16 ties and 12 lead changes throughout the game. MUW would get a six-point lead at 3:53 in the first half, 37-31. Westminster would go on a run at the end of the half to tie the game 39-39. The Owls would make a free throw and a layup to end the half and headed to the locker room up 42-39.
Westminster started the second half on a 4-0 run and retook the lead, 43-42. It would be short-lived as MUW scored a three-point play on their next possession and then took the lead back 45-43. They would slowly extend their lead to the largest of the game at 69-58 and had an eleven-point lead with 7 minutes remaining.
The Blue Jays refused to lie down and began to chip away at the deficit. It started with Walker Gohring knocking down two free throws. He would get fouled again after a defensive rebound and went one for two from the line. Jack Fessenden made a jumper, followed by Luke Abeln hitting a three to make it 71-66 with 5:42 left. Jack Fessenden would get fouled and made two more free throws. The Blue Jays would force the Owls to turn the ball over, which resulted in Ben Eberlin getting fouled. He would make it a three-point game after making both free throws.
Down three with 3:10 left on the clock, the Blue Jays would force the Owls to turn the ball over and that led to a timeout for the Blue Jays. After the timeout, the Blue Jays gave the ball back, and that led to a basket for the Owls who extended their lead 75-70. Walker Gohring would hit a three-pointer to make it 75-73. Both teams would go cold down the stretch, going six straight possessions without a score.
A technical foul would be called on the Owls with 42 seconds left. Walker Gohring would make both free throws to tie the game 75-75. The Blue Jays would retain possession after the technical. Ben Eberlin would get fouled on the ensuing inbounds play. He would go one for two from the line but would give the Blue Jays a 76-75 lead. The Owls would grab the defensive rebound and called timeout with 34 seconds left. After the timeout, the MUW would shoot a three to take the lead. It would be no good and the Blue Jays would grab the rebound. The Owls would foul to extend the game. Senior Brennan Jeffries stepped to the line and knocked down both free throws to make it 78-75. The Owls would shoot another three to try to tie it with six seconds left. The shot would be offline and rebounded by Westminster. Brennan Jeffries was once again fouled and sent to the line. He would ice the game for the Blue Jays, making both free throws to make it 80-75. The Owls would have a shot at the buzzer, but it was no good. Westminster wins it with a final score of 80-75 and completes the eleven-point comeback.
Walker Gohring led the Blue Jays with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He would go 10-16 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line. Ben Eberlin had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He would go 11-19 from the free throw line and 4-6 from the field. Brennan Jeffries had 14 points. He would go 5-8 from the field and 4-5 from the line. The Blue Jays as a team would go 22-31 from the free throw line.
Westminster will be back in action on Wednesday, January 24th when they take on the top team in the SLIAC, the Greenville University Panthers. The game will tip-off at 7:30 PM in Greenville, Illinois.
