It took an extra five minutes of play to settle that matter between two long-term rivals but in the end, Azusa Pacific defended their home court with an 86-83 overtime win against No. 22 Westmont Men’s Basketball. Matt LeDuc led the Warriors in scoring for the second game in a row, tallying 20 points to go with eight rebounds. Dan Rasp posted a double-double for the Warriors consisting of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“What an effort our guys gave tonight,” said Westmont Head Coach John Moore. “A great indicator of effort is how we rebound the ball and we almost got 50 rebounds tonight. Danny led us with 11, John Miller (6 points, 7 rebounds) had a great rebounding game. Blake Bender (9 points, 11 rebounds) was outstanding. Matt LeDuc and John Miller played superb basketball in what was a homecoming for them. All the way across the board the guys who stepped on the floor for us were very, very good.
“This is a tough loss because of how tough we were and how hard we played,” continued the coach. “It was an effort like very few we have been able to give in the last five years down here. It felt like we were the better team for the majority of the game. We executed exceptionally well. Our defense in the second half was superb. We just couldn’t finish a shot at the end of regulation.”
The Warriors were missing Andrew Schmalbach in the lineup due to an injury which occurred in practice on Monday. The senior shooting guard is expected to be ready for the Warriors’ next game.
The opening period was close throughout with neither team achieving more than a five point lead. Azusa’s largest first-half margin came with 6:46 to play when Mike Danielian (6 points) scored from beyond the arc to make the score 28-23.
The Warriors wasted no time in responding. Miller hit a jumper and LeDuc nailed a trey to tie the score at 28. Chris Jackson (15 points, 8 assists) then scored on a fast break and Rasp completed the run with a dunk to put the Warriors up 32-28 with 5:19 to play. After a free throw by the Cougars’ Marshall Johnson (12 points, 5 rebounds) Evan Haines (4 points, 5 rebounds) added a layup to give Westmont its five-point lead, 34-29.
But the Cougars turned the tables and over the final three and one-half minutes of the first half they outscored the Warriors 11-2 to claim a 40-36 lead at halftime. After play resumed, Azusa Pacific pushed their lead to eight (44-36) before the Warriors could get on the scoreboard.
Once more, the Warriors responded. Down 49-44 with 16 minutes to play, Westmont produced a 14-0 run over the next four and one-half minutes to go up 58-49. During the run the Warriors’ defense turned the Cougars away on nine straight possessions.
However the Cougars battled back again, tying the game at 71 and eventually taking a two-point lead on a three-pointer by Dominique Johnson (19 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds) with 2:13 remaining in regulation. A jumper by Rasp with 1:54 to play tied the game at 77 but neither team could score before the buzzer sounded to end regulation.
In overtime, the Cougars jumped out to an 81-77 lead on baskets by Reggie Owens (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Caleb Burgess (20 points, 4 rebounds). Westmont was forced to play catch-up but never quite did.
“Sometimes basketball is cruel with a couple of balls that just dribbled off the rim and couldn’t find the net,” said Moore. “Two of those were in regulation with time running down. One of those we missed and John Miller did a superb job of diving for a ball to give us one more look at the basket, but we just couldn’t put it in.”
The Warriors shot 50% from the field (34 of 68) compared to 46.4% for the Cougars. But Azusa made 12 of 29 from three-point range while the Warriors completed just five of 18. Westmont also struggled at the charity stripe.
“That’s the one place were we weren’t very good tonight,” said Moore. “We were 10 for 21 from the free throw line. If you don’t make free throws, you are going to have a hard time winning close games. Unfortunately, that’s what it came down to.”
Elsewhere in Golden State Athletic Conference play, #2 Concordia fell for the first time this year, losing to San Diego Christian 80-75 in El Cajon. California Baptist posted a 60-49 win over visiting Vanguard and Fresno Pacific corralled the Mustang’s of The Master’s 67-61. Fourth-ranked Biola moved into a tie with Concordia for first place in the GSAC standings by defeating Hope International 83-42.
With a record of 7-3, Azusa Pacific is now all alone in third place, two games behind Biola and Concordia. California Baptist and The Master’s share fourth place with 6-4 records. Westmont and Fresno Pacific are tied for sixth at 5-5. San Diego Christian and Vanguard each have a record of 3-7 and are knotted up for eighth place. Point Loma is in tenth at 2-8 and Hope International has yet to win a conference game.
On Saturday, Westmont will begin the second round of GSAC competition by hosting San Diego Christian in Murchison Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.
