Westminster men open play tonight in SLIAC postseason basketball tournament

The No. 2 seed Westminster Blue Jays (17-8) begin defense of their SLIAC postseason tournament title when they face No. 3 Webster University (11-7) at 6 tonight at Greenville (Illinois) College.

Westminster College - which finished at 13-5 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - split its meetings with Webster (11-7 in conference play) during the regular season. The Blue Jays fended off the Gorloks 98-94 in overtime on Dec. 10 in Fulton, then lost to Webster 79-68 on Jan. 28 in St. Louis.

In the second semifinal at 8 tonight, top-seeded and regular-season SLIAC champion Greenville (20-5, 14-4) squares off against No. 4 Principia (Illinois) College (12-11, 11-7).

The SLIAC title game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament.