O'Brien Leads Blue Jays Over Golden Eagles

Sean O'Brien (44)
Sean O'Brien (44)

FULTON, Mo. - Westminster men's basketball recorded a commanding victory over the Spalding Golden Eagles, 77-57.

Westminster improves to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the SLIAC with the win. 

"This was a difficult game for us," said Westminster Head Coach Matt Mitchell. "We had several guys that had exams today and were not able to practice this week."

Sean O'Brien led all scorers with 25 points, going 9-11 from the field and 3-4 from three-point range. Romo Tabb added 15 points of his own.

"Sean and Romo really dominated the interior and made it difficult for a very athletic Spalding team to guard them," said Mitchell. 

Westminster went on a 12-0 run over an eight-minute stretch to extend the lead to 22-10 with eight minutes to play in the half. The Blue Jays never trailed in the game. 

With less than five minues to play in the first half, the Golden Eagles began pulling back into the game and came within two points. A Spalding layup cut the deficit to two points going into the half at 32-30. 

A combined 11 points from O'Brien and Tabb started the second half for Westminster to extend their lead. A three-pointer from Carter Wands at the 14:24 mark gave Westminster a double-digit lead back, 48-37. 

From there, Westminster dominated the scoring, opening up a 20-point lead with less than two minutes to play. 

"It was a great way to head into the holidays and jump start the remaining conference season," said Mitchell. 

As a team, the Blue Jays shot 29-51 (56.9%) and 11-10 (57.9%) from three-point range. 

Westminster takes a break for the holidays but returns to face Marymount at Trevecca Nazarene at 2 p.m.