The streaks continued for the Westmont College men’s basketball team on Thursday night in Murchison Gym and none of them were good.
After building an 11-point lead, the Warriors went cold in the second half and dropped a 77-73 decision to Concordia, the NAIA’s 19th-ranked squad. It was the third straight loss for Westmont (11-10, 5-8), the sixth in seven games and the fourth straight at home.
Sophomore forward Dan Rasp had a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) for the Warriors and Evan Haines and Tyler Dutton added 10 points apiece. Christopher “CJ” Jackson, who ranks No. 3 on the NAIA assist chart at 6.5 per game, collected nine points and 10 assists.
The Warriors built an 11-point lead with 3:13 to go in the first half, 39-28, on back-to-back layups by Matt LeDuc and two free throws by Ryan Aijian.
“Our execution kind of went downhill at that point,” said Jackson, a 5-9 junior. “When you play a team that pressures you like that, sometimes they can get you out of sync a little bit.”
Concordia went on a 10-1 run to get within two points. Rasp’s short jumper gave the Warriors a 42-38 halftime edge.
Westmont shot a blistering 65.4 percent in the first half and 54.5 for the game. But the Warriors only made 1-of-6 from 3-point range and 4-10 free throws over the final 20 minutes.
“That’s not going to win many games,” said coach John Moore, who couldn’t remember the last time his team lost four straight at home. “We showed great intensity and great hunger. I felt like we could have had a 10-point lead at halftime.”
Rasp, who shoots nearly 80 percent from the foul line, was only 1-3 while Jackson, a 67-percenter, was 3-6.
Kingsley Costain, a 5-9 guard from Toronto, topped the Eagles with 17 points. Concordia (18-5, 9-4) moved into sole possession of second in the GSAC, a half-game ahead of Cal Baptist and Azusa Pacific. Westmont is tied for seventh with The Masters.
Concordia hit 8-of-20 from long range and outscored the Warriors 24-6 from the 3-point arc.
In a game that featured 13 lead changes, the Eagles took the lead for good at the 10-minute mark (58-56) on a layup by Dominic Cruz-Duncan. Duncan had 11 rebounds, including five offensive, to help Concordia to a 36-31 lead on the boards.
“They had nine offensive rebounds in the second half and that’s nine extra possessions,” noted Moore.
Westmont was trailing 61-57 when Cameron Gliddon hit three consective 3-pointers — his only baskets of the game — to stretch the Eagle lead to 70-59 with 5:43 to play.
The Warriors chipped away, however, and got within two, 71-69, when Jackson whipped a no-look pass to Dutton for a reverse layup with 1:20 left. But former Dos Pueblos High standout Phil Friesen hit a pair of free throws for the Eagles, who sealed the win by nailing 6-8 foul shots in the final 61 seconds.
Westmont will be in Fullerton on Saturday to take on Hope International, whom they’ve never lost to in 22 meetings.
“We’re in a little bit of a slump but I think we played better tonight and competed more,” Jackson concluded. “We just have to start getting some wins.”
