The Webster University men’s basketball team blew a 19-point first-half lead, but recovered in time to top the Greenville College (Ill.) Panthers 81-76 in overtime on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Grant Gymnasium.
Greenville’s Jordan Smith nailed a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime tied at 68-all. In OT, the Gorloks outscored their conference rival 13-8 to seal the victory.
Earlier in the regular season, Webster thumped Greenville 91-61 in Greenville, Ill. The Gorloks looked like they were well on their way to another blowout, as they jumped out to a 12-0 advantage and led 44-28 at halftime.
But the Panthers refused to go away in the second half. Down 46-30, Greenville went on a 17-3 run to bring the score to 49-47 with 11:41 to play. Webster never allowed Greenville to seize the lead, but the Gorloks didn’t put away the Panthers either.
Senior guard Cody Bradfisch hit a pair of free throws to give Webster a 68-65 edge with 7 seconds remaining. After a Greenville timeout, Smith hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the right wing to push the game into overtime.
Ahmad Smith was the offensive star for Webster, as the sophomore guard scored 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting. Senior forward Roman Robinson recorded 18 points and 9 rebounds, and Bradfisch poured in 14 points. No other Webster player scored in double figures.
The Gorloks shot 63.3 percent from the field in the first half, but cooled considerably in the second half, as they hit only 25 percent of their shots. The Panthers made 47.5 percent of their field-goal tries.
With the overtime victory, the Gorloks improve to 10-10 overall and 8-4 in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Webster is tied with Eureka College (Ill.) for third place in the SLIAC, while fifth-place MacMurray College (Ill.) is a half-game back of both teams. Greenville dropped to 8-12 overall and 3-8 in the SLIAC with the loss.
Next up for Webster is a home contest against Principia College (Ill.) on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. at Grant Gymnasium. The Gorloks then play host to first-place Spalding University (Ky.) on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m.
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