CARLINVILLE, Ill. -  The W men's basketball kept pace with the upper echelon of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), thanks to its 60-47 road win at Blackburn College. The Owls improved to 12-10 on the year (9-6 SLIAC), while the Beavers sank to 3-19 (2-13 SLIAC).
 
The victory kept MUW entrenched in the No. 4 slot in the SLIAC post-season tournament race. With three regular season games remaining, The W is within a game of the No. 3 position. The Owls have already clinched a berth in the six-team SLIAC tournament.
 
On Thursday, the host BC team jumped out to a 5-2 lead after 2 ½ minutes of action. But by the 16:24 juncture of the opening half, MUW would take the lead for good after a tip-in basket by senior Dariun Doss made it 6-5. By halftime, MUW had extended its cushion to 32-19 and looked in control.
 
But leave it to the Beavers to chew their way back in the second half. The W built it largest lead of 21 points (44-23) on a Trent Walker layup with 13:37 left in the game. By the time the clock had ticked down to 2:14, Blackburn had reduced its deficit to single digits, 56-47.
 
The stingy MUW defense would rise to the occasion and not permit any more points in the waning seconds. Meanwhile, The W added a pair of buckets for the 60-47 final score.
 
Doss was nearly perfect shooting for on his way to a game-high 19 points. Doss was 9-of-10 from the floor, while also snagging five rebounds and making one block.
 
Teammate Eric Bass Jr. continued his hot play of late, chipping in 17 points on a 7-for-9 shooting effort from the field.
 
Cam Smith and Chris Evans chipped in seven and six points, respectively. Walker was held to four points, but shared high-rebound honors by pulling down eight caroms off the glass.
 
The W shot a blistering 59 percent (25-44) from the floor. But the Owl defense dammed up the Beavers' offense to the tune of just a 28 percent (17-61) night shooting, overall. MUW owned the inside game, with 40 of its points (75 percent) coming in the paint.
 
The W will stay on the road for a Saturday (Feb. 15/3 p.m.) contest at Eureka College.