CARLINVILLE, Ill. - The Blue Jays failed to keep the Beavers off the offensive glass as they suffered their third straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss Wednesday night.
Westminster College (9-7, 5-4 SLIAC) shot a dreadful 37 percent (20-of-54) overall, including a miserable 20 percent (3-of-15) from 3-point range.
"We are continuing to struggle in shooting the ball," Blue Jays head coach Matt Mitchell said. "We defended well all night, but we struggled to find an offensive rhythm from the floor and the free-throw line."
Westminster limited Blackburn (9-7, 4-4) to just 42-percent shooting (24-of-57) as a team, including 25 percent (7-of-27) from behind the arc. However, the Beavers outrebounded the Blue Jays 41-29 and outscored them 14-5 on second-chance points.
The two teams exchanged five lead changes in the first half and were tied twice before Blackburn was able to establish a cushion. After junior guard Cody Shaw's layup cut Westminster's deficit to 22-21, the Beavers ended the first half on a 9-2 run to enter halftime with a 31-23 advantage.
Blackburn built its lead to double digits with six unanswered points to go up 52-38 with 8 minutes left in the game. The Beavers would lead by as many as 16 points before Westminster began fighting back.
A 13-2 run powered by Shaw and junior guard Collin Caywood brought the Blue Jays within 59-52 with more than 3 minutes to play. Westminster, though, would go on an almost two-minute scoring drought as its comeback attempt was quelled.
Senior forward Stu Hollandsworth - making 8-of-10 free throws - topped the Blue Jays with a game-high 18 points. Shaw produced 11 points and Caywood added 10.
Duncan King led Blackburn with 17 points. Karson Hayes finished with 13 points and Malcolm Scott compiled 12.
Westminster travels to St. Louis for a SLIAC matchup against Webster University (8-8, 5-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Jays dismantled the Gorloks 84-55 on Nov. 29 in Fulton.