Westmont Men’s Basketball held the Royals of Hope International (4-4, 0-2 GSAC) to just 21 first-half points and held on in the second half to earn a 77-67 Golden State Athletic Conference victory. With the win, Westmont improves to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in GSAC play.
Four Warriors scored in double-figures led by junior guard Blake Bender with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“Blake continues to be a very good player for us,” said Moore. “He played the most minutes for us, led us in scoring and tied for the most rebounds.”
Junior forward Dan Rasp scored 13 points and snatched four rebounds. Matt LeDuc and Chris Jackson each added 12 points with Jackson tallying seven assists and three steals. LeDuc also pulled down six boards.”
“Matt played a very nice first half again, scoring eight of his 12 points in the first half,” said Westmont Head Coach John Moore. “C.J. had a very nice overall game and Jordan Sachs looked very comfortable being close to home. Jordan scored all four of his points, two assists and two of his three rebounds in the first half.”
Sachs, who hails from Whittier, played for nearby La Habra High School.
Making his return to the Warrior lineup after recovering from an ankle injury was junior center Evan Haines. In 18 minutes of play, Haines notched four points and seven rebounds.
“It was great to have Evan back,” said Moore. “Evan is such a good rebounder. He’s a double-double guy when he’s healthy and we can play him 25-30 minutes. John Miller has done a great job stepping in for him. Tonight John had seven points and three rebounds.”
After the Royals Brian Tollette (10 points, 9 rebounds) scored the games first two points, the Warriors answered with a 7-0 run on baskets by Rasp and Jackson and a three-pointer by Andrew Schmalbach (8 points, 3 rebounds). For the rest of the half, the Warriors built on their advantage, amassing a 23 point lead by intermission (44-21).
“We had a very, very nice first half,” said Moore. “All nine who played in the first half added to the game. Often lost in a good offensive output is how well we played defensively in the first half.”
Offensively, the Warriors shot an impressive 64.5% from the floor in the first half (20 of 31), including 57.1% from three-point range (4 of 7). Defensively, Westmont held Hope International to just 9-of-27 shooting (33.3%) including one of eight from beyond the arc (12.5%).
The second half was not as stellar for the Warriors who gave up 46 points while scoring only 33. But the final margin of 10 points was the closest that the Royals were able to get.
For the second game in a row, the Warriors out-rebounded their opponents by a double-digit margin. Against Concordia, Westmont held a 39-28 advantage. In tonight’s game, Westmont pulled down 38 rebounds compared to Hope Internationals’ 24.
Tonight’s win was the 399th win of Moore’s coaching career. It was also his 499th game as the Warriors’ head coach. His first opportunity to win his 400th game will come on Saturday, December 19 when the Warriors take on Cal State Martime in Vallejo as part of a two-game road trip to the Bay Area. Westmont will play against Menlo in Atherton on December 21.
