Four Warriors scored in double figures as Westmont Men’s Basketball (15-11, 9-8) picked up a road win at Point Loma Nazarene (15-13, 8-10) by a score of 80-77. Sophomore forward Dan Rasp scored 20 points while sophomore guard Evan Haines recorded 12 points and pulled down five rebounds. Also scoring in double figures were Blake Bender (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Matt LeDuc (10 points, 3 rebounds).
The Warriors jumped out to an early 9-1 lead, but the Sea Lions came back to tie the game at 28 and then take a 43-37 advantage into the locker room. But Westmont came out strong as the second half began, producing an 18-5 run.
After a layup by Dan Rasp, Andrew Schmalbach connected from beyond the arc to tie the game at 42 less than minute into the second period. The Sea Lions responded with a three-pointer from Nate Van Weelden (14 points), but Rasp scored on another layup and Haines added two more layups to give Westmont a 48-45 advantage.
Point Loma’s Curtis Carlson (25 points, 8 rebounds) nailed two free throws to draw the Sea Lions to with one (48-47) with 16:41 to play. Westmont’s Chris Jackson (9 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) missed a jumper on the next possession, but then stole the ball and fed it to Rasp for a dunk and one on the opposite end.
When the Sea Lions brought the ball up court, Rasp pilfered the ball and Jackson completed a layup – assisted by Tyler Dutton (8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds) – to give the Warriors a 53-76 advantage. Rasp added another jumper to complete the Warrior run.
Like the first half, Point Loma slowly whittled away at the Warrior lead. With 7:17 to play in regulation, an Austin Wilcox layup tied the game at 67. This time, however, Westmont appeared determine not to let the Sea Lions take control.
Jackson scored on the Warriors’ next possession and then Bender hit a jumper to put Westmont up 71-67 with 6:04 remaining on the clock. One minute later a layup by Rasp added to the advantage and 55 second after that, LeDuc hit one of two free throws to put the Warriors up 74-67.
Again the Sea Lions rallied, this time narrowing the margin to one (77-76) on layup by Noble’D Shelton (17 points) with 1:02 to play. Westmont brought the ball down the court and with 38 seconds left Dan Rasp drew a foul from Craig Austin. Rasp converted the first free throw, but missed the second. Point Loma’s Rehtt Beal came up with the defensive rebound, but a turnover gave Westmont possession with 18 seconds to go.
Beal then stole the ball, briefly regaining possession for the Sea Lions before Bender stole it back and was fouled by Austin. Bender stepped to the line and sank both ends of a one-and-one to give Westmont an 80-76 advantage with 11 seconds remaining. Austin added one free throw in the final two seconds, but it left Point Loma short at the final buzzer.
In other Golden State Athletic Conference action, #8 Fresno Pacific (23-4, 16-1) defeated host San Diego Christian (9-17, 4-13) by a score of 101-73. #11 Concordia (22-5, 13-4) also picked up a road win, defeating Biola (19-8, 10-7) by a 54-47 margin. #21 Azusa Pacific (18-9, 11-6) was the only home team to win on Saturday night, defeating Vanguard (7-19, 6-11) by a score of 79-63. The Master’s (15-12, 7-10) earned a 68-54 win over Hope International (4-21, 1-6).
With a three-game lead in the conference standings and as many to play, Fresno Pacific has clinched at least a share of the GSAC regular season championship. Second place Concordia holds a two-game lead over third place Azusa Pacific. California Baptist and Biola are tied for fourth place one game behind Azusa Pacific.
Westmont is in sixth place in the GSAC, one game behind California Baptist and Biola and two games ahead of The Master’s which is in seventh place. The Warriors need one win in their remaining three regular season games to clinch a spot in next month’s GSAC Tournament. Depending on the results of those games and how other conference opponents fare, Westmont can finish anywhere from fourth place to a tie for eighth place in the standings.
The Warriors will next take on the eighth-ranked Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific (23-4, 16-1 GSAC) in Fresno on Tuesday, February 24 in a 7:30 p.m. game.
