Fulton, MO, 2/9/2022 – The Westminster College men's basketball team came into Wednesday night's home matchup with the run and gun Greenville University Panthers looking to win two straight games in Historic Gym. The Blue Jays took the lead for good on the first of six Ethan Thompson (Columbia, MO / Hallsville) three pointers to make it 12-9 with 17:32 to play in the first half. The Blue Jays would never trail again on the way to a 134-108 victory over the Panthers. The win was Head Coach Matt Mitchell's 299the career victory. The Blue Jays improve to 8-14 overall and 4-7 in SLIAC play.
Tre Kempker (Eugene, MO / Eugene) scored nine straight points as part of a 10-0 Blue Jay run late in the first half that gave the Jays their biggest lead of the first half at 60-42 with 1:31 before the half. The Panthers countered with a 7-0 run to end the half and cut the Blue Jays lead to 60-49 at the half.
The Blue Jays and the Panthers traded baskets early in the second half. Back-to-back buckets by Landon Harrison (Jefferson City, MO / Helias) pushed the Jays lead back into double figures at 77-65 with 13:57 to play in the game. The Blue Jays would not see their lead at under ten the rest of the game. When Jaxon Althaus (Oak Grove, MO / Oak Grove) nailed a three-point shot with 3:58 to play in the game it gave the Blue Jays their first 20 plus point lead at 119-98. When Cade Combs (Harrisburg, MO / Harrisburg) buried a three off of an Adrian Webb (Poplar Bluff, MO / Poplar Bluff) assist it gave the Jays their largest lead of the night at 130-100 before cruising to the 134-108 home victory.
Harrison led the Blue Jays with 33 points shooting 12-19 from the field. Kempker came off the bench to contribute a career high 26 points on 10-15 shooting. Althaus would chip in 25 points including a 3-4 performance from the three-point line. Thompson would go 6-9 from the three-point line for 18 points and shot an astounding 14-19 from the three-point line in the two games against Greenville this season. Harrison would record a double-double as he dished out a team high 11 assists. Althaus finished with seven assists. Kempker led the Blue Jays on the boards with eight rebounds.
The Blue Jays will be back in action on Saturday February 12th when the Jays travel to Louisville, KY to take on the Spalding University Golden Eagles. The game is scheduled to tip off at 12:00 p.m. CST.
