COLUMBUS, Miss. - Mississippi University for Women men's basketball was toppled by Webster University, 69-56, in a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) contest at Pohl Gym. The loss dropped the Owls to 6-9 (2-6 SLIAC), while the Gorloks improved to 8-8 (6-3 SLIAC).
 
In a game versus a team above them in the SLIAC standings, The W was unable to gain any ground by slowing down the fourth-place Webster squad, with a 10-3 margin in fast-break points. MUW also, uncharacteristically, struggled at the free throw stripe in both quantity and quality, making just 7-of-16 (44 percent), contrasted to the Gorloks' 16-for-22 from the charity line.
 
After Webster took the lead for good just two minutes in, the Owls just could never seem to get below a double-figure deficit most of the second half. With Webster holding a 22-point cushion (67-45) with 2:35 left, MUW valiantly closed the game on an 11-2 run, but it proved to be too much of a hill to climb for The W.
 
The Owls' tandem of Brye Hopkins and Josh Dukes matched numbers with 13 points and four rebounds, apiece. The senior Hopkins was 6-of-10 from the floor and also made three steals.
 
Dukes had a quality 6-of-8 effort from the field, including one from beyond the arc. Dukes led all players by dishing off seven assists on the night.
 
Dariun Doss was The W's third double-digit scorer with 11 points, to go along with his game-leading seven rebounds. Cam Smith was held to four points after getting into foul trouble, but did haul in six rebounds.
 
The W men will look for a return to the win column on Saturday (Jan. 20) when it hosts Westminster College in a 3 p.m. in Pohl Gym.