COLUMBUS, Miss. – Junior guard Eric Bass Jr. is making it difficult for The W men's basketball team to draw fans with any sort of coronary condition to Pohl Gym.  For the second-consecutive game, Bass Jr. drilled a last-second shot to lift his team to a 59-58, come-from-behind, St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) win over second-place Webster University (10-9, 9-3 SLIAC).
 
While Bass Jr.'s heroics last Thursday versus Westminster came with two-tenths left on the clock, his winning bucket must have seemed as though he had an eternity. After The W (10-9, 7-5 SLIAC) called a timeout down 58-56 and with 17.8 seconds remaining, Trent Walker inbounded the ball to Bass Jr. inside the halfcourt line on the near side. Bass Jr. yo-yoed the ball as he advanced toward the top of the key, then broke to his right and drove the lane, kissing the ball high off the glass and in, with 3.7 second left.
 
The Gorloks attempt to push the ball up the floor was intercepted by MUW Chris Evans as time expired to seal the win.
 
"It's been a wild week with both wins coming at the last second," Bass Jr. said. "I'm so thankful and I was just trying to help our team get the win. God is good all the time. I was just staying locked in and ready to make the play. I prayed to God to help me make the plays I needed to make in each game.
 
 
The Owls only led for 3:30 minutes of the game, prior to Bass Jr.'s bucket. In all, there were seven ties and seven lead changes in the first 13:33 minutes, in addition to the lead change that mattered most to The W in the waning seconds.
 
A balanced Owls' attack was led by fifth-year senior Dariun Doss' 12 points. Doss was responsible for three of the Owls' five blocked shots as a team.
 
That was followed closely by 11 points, apiece, from James Dukes and Trent Walker. Walker led all rebounders with 12 boards for his fourth double-double of the season (and all coming after the calendar flipped to 2025).
 
Dukes also chipped in seven rebounds, dished three assists, and had block.
 
"Dad always tells me that Big time players make big time plays so be ready for your opportunity and just trust the process," Bass Jr. added. "These two games are behind us now; we have more games ahead we need to prepare for. On to the next game."
 
The W will be on the road for the next two weeks, beginning with a bout next Thursday (Feb. 6/7:30 p.m.) at Fontbonne University.