FULTON, Mo. - Westminster men's basketball tallied their second conference win of the season with a 98-94 overtime win against Webster.
The Blue Jays improve to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the SLIAC, while the Gorlocks fall to 4-5 and 2-1 in conference play.
"Our hats go off to Webster," said Mitchell. "They could have given up but they kept trying and hit some incredible shots to send it into overtime."
The game featured no double-digit leads for either team and a combined 29 three-pointers made on both sides.
"It was a great college basketball game today," said Westminster Head Coach Matt Mitchell. "Both teams had guys that made some fantastic plays."
Westminster opened up the game with a 5-0 start, but Webster quickly made up for the slow start by heating up from behind the three-point line. From the 15:43 mark to the 14:08 mark, the Gorlocks went on a 13-0 run which included three three-pointers to go up 19-11.
Jimmy Villalobos, who led the team with 23 points, found his own streak by hitting two threes to keep Westminster in the game. Romo Tabb hit three layups down the stretch, and Westminster found themselves tied with the Gorlocks at 33 with under four minutes in the half.
While the Blue Jays couldn't regain the lead in the half, they went into the locker rooms for the halftime break down just one basket at 40-38.
A 7-0 run to start the half put Westminster back on top for the first time since early in the first half. A three-pointer from Romo Tabb at the 14:55 mark gave Westminster its largest lead of the game thus far, 53-46.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Hunter Ward put Webster back on top with just over 10 minutes left to play, 56-53.
From the 12 minute mark to the 8 minute mark, there was six lead changes and one tie. The Gorlocks then went on a 7-0 run to go up by seven with five minutes to play.
To counter, the Blue Jays went on a 9-0 run of their own, featuring buckets from four separate players.
With 1:50 remaining, Tabb defiantly shifted the momentum in favor of the Blue Jays with a one-handed alley-oop jam on a pass from Carter Wants, putting Westminster up 76-72.
Despite an 8-point lead with under a minute to go, Webster did not quit playing, hitting four-three pointers in the final minute to force overtime on a last-second three from Gorlock guard Evan Milligan.
"Our guys bounced back in overtime and kept competing," said Mitchell. "They showed a great deal of heart and maturity to win it."
Webster led twice in the overtime, but a three-pointer from Tabb with 2:16 remaining sealed the Blue Jay victory. With made freethrows down the stretch from Carter Wands, Westminster finished with a 98-94 win.
Villalobos led the team with 23 points and 10 boards. Sean O'Brien and Tabb added 19 apiece, while Wands recorded 12 points and five assists.
"Carter Wands had a fantastic game by making all 10 freethrows but most importantly, he shut down Hunter Ward over the last 10 minutes of the game and in overtime," said Mitchell. Ward led the Gorlocks with a game-high 25 points, mostly scored in the first 30 minutes of the game before Wands took the defensive assignment.
Westminster returns home Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. against Spalding.
