1/27/2024 Fulton, Mo- The Westminster College men's basketball team was back at home inside the Historic Gym after a three-game road stint. They hosted the Blackburn College Beavers in the annual Coaches vs Cancer game. It would come down to the wire with Blue Jays making big shots down the stretch. The Beavers would tie the game 69-69 at the free throw line with 8 seconds left. Senior guard Brennan Jeffries received the ball and went coast to coast, finishing with a layup at the rim. He was fouled on the shot with .4 seconds remaining. He would knock down the free throw to make it 72-69. Westminster improves to 4-15 on the season and 4-8 in the SLIAC. They currently hold the final spot in the SLIAC tournament, with 6 games remaining in the season.
The Beavers started the game hitting back-to-back threes to go up 6-0 early in the game. The Blue Jays would score five in a row to make it 6-5. Aaron Poage would hit a jumper to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the game at 7-6 with 16:15 left in the first half. Blackburn would go on a run to regain the lead and go up 16-9, forcing a timeout from Blue Jay head coach Todd Creal. Creal would rally the troops in the timeout and Westminster would come back to tie it at 18-18 after freshman Gavin Hendrix scored an offensive rebound put back. Blackburn would end the half on a 6-2 run to take a 39-36 lead at halftime.
It would be a back-and-forth game early in the second half, with the Beavers holding a small lead for most of the time. Freshman guard Jack Fessenden hit a jump shot to tie the game 52-52, with 13:21 remaining. On the Blue Jays' next possession, Fessenden drilled a three pointer to give the Blue Jays a 55-52 lead. A few moments later, Fessenden would strike again, hitting another three pointer to give the Blue Jays their largest lead of the game, 58-53 with 11 minutes left. Luke Abeln would grab an offensive rebound and the put back extended the lead to seven.
Blackburn would storm back and regained the lead, 65-64 with 4 minutes left in the game. What happened in the final four minutes would make this game a classic in recent Blue Jay basketball history. Jack Fessenden would hit a three off an assist from Brysan Jeffries to give Westminster the lead back, 66-65. The Beavers scored on a layup to take the lead back 67-66 with 1:44 left. Blackburn would call a timeout with 49 seconds left. In the timeout, Coach Creal drew up a play and the Blue Jays executed it well. Jack Fessenden found himself all alone in the corner and he would knock down the clutch three to put the Jays on top 69-67 with eleven seconds left. The Blue Jays would call timeout to settle down the nerves and talk about how to handle the final seconds. Blackburn would inbound the ball and would draw a foul, sending them to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game. The Beavers would make both free throws and tie the game 69-69. After making the first free throw, Westminster called their last timeout to strategize for both scenarios of the free throw being missed or made. After the make, senior guard Brennan Jeffries would get in-bounded the ball with 8 seconds left. He drove the ball from coast to coast and got to the rim. He made the layup and got fouled on the shot. Jeffries would make the free throw and win the game for the Blue Jays 72-69.
Jack Fessenden continues to have a memorable freshman season. He led the Blue Jays with 18 points, going 4-5 from behind the arc. He would also have two big time steals. Brennan Jeffries had 15 points, going 6-12 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line. Another freshman standout, Walker Gohring, had a double-double scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Fellow freshman Gavin Hendrix had 6 points and 11 rebounds. He grabbed 7 offensive rebounds and played outstanding defense, contributing in ways that won't show up in the box score. Luke Abeln had 6 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.
The Blue Jays will be back in action on Wednesday, January 31st when they take on Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Mo. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm.
