The Panthers led 45-40 at halftime, but Webster quickly erased the deficit. The Gorloks outscored the Panthers 20-6 to start the second half. Corey Kuhn sparked the run with eight points. He led all scorers with 28 points.
Corie Jackson hit a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around a Webster basket to tie the game at 79 with under four minutes remaining. Jackson led the Panthers with 20 points. It was his second straight game with 20 points.
Jackson’s third straight three-pointer put the Panthers ahead to stay, 82-79. The Panthers would build a 92-81 lead with less than a minute remaining. It was their largest lead of the game.
In the first half, the Panthers shot 65 percent from the floor, but hit only 7-of-16 free throws. Webster shot 45 from the floor, while making 6-of-7 free throws.
Robby Lawrence followed Jackson with 16 points, while Demetris Render added 13 and Michael Patterson 10. Landon Baize had a game-high eight assists to go with eight points.
The Panthers open their Great South Athletic Conference schedule at Maryville on Jan. 7 and at Fisk on Jan. 8.
LAGRANGE COLLEGE 92, WEBSTER UNIVERSITY 83 WEBSTER UNIVERSITY (1-8) Kuhn, Corey 7-13 9-10 28; Basilio, Christian 8-11 1-2 17; Spinner, Scott 6-12 0-0 13; Turk, Ryan 4-9 1-2 10; Hoggatt, Darin 3-3 2-2 8; Messman, Jeff 1-2 2-2 4; Brad Robinson 1-4 0-0 2; Stiegemeier, Doug 0-1 1-2 1; Monnig, Ben 0-2 0-0 0; Suter, Nathan 0-0 0-0 0; Caskey, Byron 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-58 16-20 83. LAGRANGE COLLEGE (5-8) Corie Jackson 7-11 1-3 20; Robby Lawrence 6-12 1-4 16; Demetris Render 6-7 1-1 13; Michael Patterson 5-8 0-1 10; Landon Baize 1-2 5-6 8; Roger McDowell 3-5 1-2 8; Kevin Kelly 1-1 3-4 5; Shon Redding 2-3 1-4 5; Brian Darracott 2-4 0-0 4; Antoine Maddox 1-1 1-1 3; Ben Podbielski 0-1 0-0 0; Jordan Nutt 0-0 0-0 0; Travis Moore 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-56 14-26 92. Webster University............ 40 43 - 83 LaGrange College.............. 45 47 - 92 3-point goals-Webster University 7-18 (Kuhn, Corey 5-9; Spinner, Scott 1-4; Turk, Ryan 1-3; Messman, Jeff 0-1; Stiegemeier, Doug 0-1), LaGrange College 10-19 (Corie Jackson 5-9; Robby Lawrence 3-4; Roger McDowell 1-3; Landon Baize 1-2; Travis Moore 0-1). Fouled out--Webster University-Kuhn, Corey, LaGrange College-None. Rebounds-Webster University 29 (Messman, Jeff 6), LaGrange College 29 (Robby Lawrence 7). Assists-Webster University 6 (Kuhn, Corey 2; Spinner, Scott 2), LaGrange College 20 (Landon Baize 8). Total fouls-Webster University 21, LaGrange College 13. Happy New Year