Fulton, MO 2/15/2023- The Westminster College men's basketball team hosted the Fontbonne University Griffins in the last home game of the season. The game was tight early on, but the Griffins would pull away near the end of the first half. They would win the game 93-74. The Blue Jays fall to 2-22 on the season and 1-12 in the SLIAC. The Griffins improve to 13-11 on the year and 9-4 in the SLIAC.
Senior guard Coby Williams (Versailles, Mo. / Morgan County R-2) got things going, hitting a three to start the game. Caleb Maassen (Linn, MO/ Linn) would score a bucket, then Jaxon Althaus (Oak Grove, MO/ Oak Grove) would score a basket and be fouled on the shot. He would make the free throw and put the Blue Jays up 8-4 in the early going. The Griffins would tie it up 8-8 and then took an 11-10 lead at the 15:50 mark. They would trade the lead back and forth for the next few minutes of game time. Lee Verslues (Westphalia, MO / Fatima) would get a steal and make a layup to put the Blue Jays back on top 18-15. Westminster would hold their lead for the next three and a half minutes. Fontbonne would hit a three to tie things up 24-24 with 10:23 left to play in the half. They would get to the free throw and make both shots to go up 26-24. Kaden Eirhart (Altamont, IL / Altamont) hit a shot to tie things up. Verslues hit a three on the next Blue Jay possession to give them the lead back 29-28. Westminster would turn the ball over and then foul the Griffins, sending them to the line. They would make both free throws and take a 30-29 lead. Fontbonne would then go on a run and pull away, taking a 52-40 lead into halftime. The Griffins would go up 24 points in the second half and would win the game 93-74.
The Blue Jays were led by the freshman guard Verslues who had 13 points off the bench. He was 6-8 from the field. Eirhart scored 12 points also off the bench. Maassen had 11 points and 4 rebounds. Althaus had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Blue Jays will travel to St. Louis on Saturday to take on Webster University in the season finale. That game will tip off at 3:30 PM.
