Webster men’s basketball team beat Greenville University to win the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament on Feb. 29. This is the team’s first SLIAC tournament win in six years.
Webster University’s men’s basketball team won the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) tournament for the first time since 2014. The Gorloks defeated Greenville University, 121-112, without Greenville ever having the lead. This was only the second game in the 2019-2020 season that Greenville never had a lead.
With two minutes and 17 seconds left in the game, Greenville guard Marvin Bateman made a three pointer to tie the game at 107. With that, the lead Webster held for over 37 minutes, and at one point was as large as 14 points, was gone.
In the next 90 seconds, Webster would score 11 straight points to seal the win.
Guard Wynne Brown Jr. led the Gorloks in scoring. His 34 points are the most in a playoff game since 2009, when Ryan Turk scored 40 in a loss. However, Turk was a senior, and Brown is a freshman. No other Webster freshman has scored more in a game.
Rodson Etienne drives for a layup. Photo by Cas Waigand.
Brown was able to play 35 minutes in the game despite the fast-paced playstyle of Greenville.
The majority of the Gorlok’s scoring was done by the starting five, who accounted for 110 of the team’s points. They outscored Greenville’s starters by 58 points.
Prior to the game, Webster Junior Rodson Etienne emphasized the importance of not turning over the ball to beat Greenville.
“I was watching Fontbonne play [Greenville] Thursday, and I don’t think they took care of the ball very well,” Etienne said. “Limiting turnovers is going to be a huge factor for us.”
Greenville scored 32 points off 24 turnovers against Fontbonne. Webster held Greenville to only 16 points off 15 turnovers.
Greenville plays a fast-paced offense paired with full-court substitutions to keep their players fresh.
“[Greenville’s pace] wears on our bodies,” Etienne said. “We make sure to stay hydrated and eat a lot of bananas before we play them.”
Webster managed to have four guys play over 30 minutes while the most minutes of any Greenville player was 22.
This win advances Webster into the NCAA Division III tournament which starts on March 2. Webster men’s basketball has never won a game in the national tournament.
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