Blue Jays Close Out Regular Season With Devastating Loss

The Westminster men’s basketball team closes out their regular season with a devastating 69-66 loss to Spalding University. The Westminster Blue Jays will head to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament in 4th place with an 11-7 conference record and a 14-11 overall record.

The Spalding Golden Eagles took a 7-2 lead in the first three minutes, but the Blue Jays pulled together to take the 9-7 lead. A 9-3 run by the Blue Jays had them up 28-20 with 4:10 left in the first half, and they struck a 7-0 run to head into halftime with a 42-26 lead.

With 13 minutes left of play, the Blue Jays held a 16 point lead, but the Golden Eagles scored 15 unanswered points to bring them within one point with 5:56 left in the game, 56-55.  The Golden Eagles came within one point, but could not grasp the lead from the Blue Jays.

With 1:43 on the clock, Spalding hit a jumper to tie up the game at 64, but senior Joe James with the layup took the lead right back. The Golden Eagles hit a jump shot to tie the game up again, leaving the ball with the Blue Jays with 40 seconds left of play. A turnover by the Blue Jays with 2 seconds on the clock had the game looking like it would head into overtime. Spalding was given the ball under the Blue Jays basketball. A pass to about the Blue Jay three-point line was caught. Spalding turned and shot it, and it hit nothing but net as the buzzer went off, ending the game with a Spalding 69-66 win.

The Blue Jays shot 57 percent from the three-point line and 49 percent from the field. Junior Brandon Moore scored 18 points for the Blue Jays, and junior Verdis Lee Jr. added in 14 points. Lee Jr. pulled down 5 boards.

The Blue Jays will head to the SLIAC Tournament this week. The Tournament will be held at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky. The Blue Jays will first face Spalding, the number one team in the tournament, at 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 27.