Westmont’s unranked men’s basketball team defeated the No. 1 NAIA team in the country last weekend in a season-opening tournament in Las Vegas.
In their home opener on Saturday, the Warriors proved it was no fluke by dismantling Cal Poly Pomona, the No. 6 team in the NCAA’s Division II, by a not-as-close-as-it-seems 60-47 score.
Westmont's John Miller took a pass from Blake Bender for the fast-break dunk on Saturday night at Murchison Gym
“This is a very good team we beat tonight. I think it’s one of the better Division II teams you’re going to find,” said Warriors head coach John Moore, having to defend a Pomona team that the Warriors made look ordinary.
Moore’s players made sure they didn’t let what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas.
“That was a real good confidence boost,” said Westmont senior guard Andrew Schmalbach of the upset win over No. 1 Robert Morris. “It let us know that we’re ready to play with anybody in the country.”
The Warriors were surely ready for this one, opening up a 12-2 lead behind Schmalbach, who scored eight of his 11 points in the first eight minutes of play. Westmont, which never trailed, led by as many as 24 in the second half.
“I think we were ready to play,” said senior point guard Chris Jackson. “We were focused, had a pretty good game plan and played pretty good defense throughout the game.”
Jackson led the charge on both sides of the ball, recording team-highs with 18 points, nine assists and six steals.
“Chris Jackson I thought had the game of his career,” said Moore. “He was awesome against Robert Morris and he was even better tonight.”
Westmont also received a big boost from freshman Preston Branson, who became an immediate crowd favorite after making a large impact in only four minutes of court time. Branson had the student-section chanting, “We-love-Preston, We-love-Preston,” after scoring six quick points in those four minutes.
The true-freshman from Dallas entered the game with 11:48 left in the second half and knocked down two open three-point shots, the second giving Westmont its biggest lead of the night at 55-31 with nine minutes to play.
The Warriors were on fire as a team from behind the arc as a team, hitting on eight of their 13 attempts, but bothered the Broncos the most with their defensive pressure, holding them to 13 points in the first half.
“That was a great accomplishment for our defense,” Moore said.
Austin Swift led Pomona with 12 points but needed 13 shots to get there.
Two-time All-GSAC selection Dan Rasp, who averaged 20.5 points at the Las Vegas Tournament, scored nine points for Westmont, including the first points of the game on a 17-foot jump shot from the right side of the key.
Blake Bender was active in the paint for the Warriors, grabbing six rebounds and scoring nine points. Bender had one steal that came in the second half, starting a fast break that ended with John Miller dunking home his only shot of the night.
Westmont (3-0) hits the road again for tournament play, making a trip to Utah for the Westminster Thanksgiving Classic. The Warriors return home on Dec. 3 for their GSAC opener against Concordia.
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where's the box score?
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