The Westminster men's basketball team advances to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Championship game after Thursday's 101-83 win over Greenville College in the SLIAC Semifinals. The Westminster Blue Jays entered the tournament as the number three seed. They knocked out Greenville, the number two seed, after holding them to a season low 83 points.
A three-pointer by sophomore Nick Carlos began the game, and a free throw by freshman Carter Wands gave the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead. Greenville got on the board with a layup two minutes into the game, and the game remained scoreless over the next three minutes. The Blue Jays ended the scoreless streak with a freshman Stu Hollandsworth layup to take a 6-2 lead. A layup by sophomore Romo Tabb put the Blue Jays up by six with 12:40 to play, but a scores on two consecutive plays by Greenville cut the game to two points, 14-12. The Blue Jays held onto the lead until Greenville sank two free throws with 8:37 on the clock to take a one-point lead, 21-20. The Blue Jays took back the lead minutes later with two free throws from sophomore Tanner Cochran. Greenville pulled back in the lead until Hollandsworth made a dunk with 1:12 on the clock. The Blue Jays advanced the lead with two layups from Tabb and Hollandsworth, but Greenville put in a three-pointer prior to the buzzer to send the game into halftime with the Blue Jays leading 36-34.
The Blue Jays scored 65 points in the second half. They took an 11-point lead 7:44 into the second half, 53-42, and a 7-0 run started by Cochran at the line gave the team a 17-point lead. Greenville knocked it down to 12 with 7:53 remaining in the game, but a 6-0 run put the Blue Jays back up by 18. A 10-0 run gave the Blue Jays a 20-point advantage over Greenville with 2:25 remaining on the clock, and they sealed the deal with a 101-83 win.
Sophomore Jimmy Villalobos recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Blue Jays had seven players with 10+ points. Wands led the Blue Jays with 17 points after hitting nine free throws. Carlos, Tabb and Hollandsworth all totaled 14 points.
Tabb recorded four blocks. Freshman Dominick Erby finished with five assists while Wands tallied four.
The Blue Jays now advance to the SLIAC Championship game held on Saturday, February 27, at 1:00 pm. They will face the winner of the second semifinal game (MacMurray vs. Spalding) in Jacksonville, Ill. The winner will receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
