It took two overtime periods, but No. 22 Westmont Men’s Basketball left San Diego with a 69-66 Golden State Athletic Conference win over the Sea Lions of Point Loma Nazarene (5-11, 2-6 GSAC). Junior center Evan Haines led the Warriors with 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks – the latter of which sets a new single game record. Haines was seven of 14 from the field.
“We were very fortunate tonight,” said Westmont Head Coach John Moore. “Evan played a monster of a game. He was four of four from the free throw line – the first time he has been perfect from the free throw line and first time he has hit back-to-back free throws all year. He played with a lot of heart.”
Up 29-26 at halftime, the Warriors (12-4, 4-3 GSAC) held a single digit lead throughout the second half. But Rhett Beal (24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) hit a three-pointer with 29 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime with the score tied at 50.
Beal scored again in the first overtime period to put the Sea Lions up 52-50 with 3:12 showing on the clock. Twenty seconds later, Andrew Schmalbach (15 points, 5 rebounds) drained a shot from beyond the arc as the Warriors recaptured the lead 53-52.
A jumper by Blake Bender (5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) gave Westmont a three-point advantage before Beal made one of two free throw shots. A layup by James Hancock (15 points, 10 rebounds) tied the games at 55 and postponed the end of the game for another five minutes.
Thirteen seconds into the second overtime period, Hancock connected on a jumper. But 21 seconds after Hancock’s shot, Matt LeDuc (9 points, 3 rebounds) sank a three-pointer and the Warriors went up 58-57. A layup by Haines put the Warriors up by three (60-57) with 3:38 remaining. One and one-half minutes later Haines added to the Warriors’ margin with two free throws. Over the next 36 seconds of clock time, free throws were the story. Beal hit two for Point Loma, Chris Jackson (10 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals) sank two for the Warriors and Beal hit another pair for the Sea Lions.
With 1:04 to play, a jumper by Hancock made it a one point game (64-63). The Warriors brought the ball up court and called time out with 58 seconds on the clock. Thirty seconds later, Schmalbach scored on a jumper to put the Warriors up by three (66-63).
After a missed layup by Point Loma, Schmalbach was fouled with 11 seconds to play. He made the first free throw but missed the second. Just three seconds later, Beal drained another three-pointer, reducing Westmont’s margin to just one (67-66). Jackson was fouled with five seconds to play and stepped to the charity stripe where he drained both shots, accounting for the final score of 69-66.
In other GSAC action, #2 Concordia defeated #4 Biola 66-56 in a showdown between two undefeated teams. The Master’s posted a 63-52 win over Hope International and Azusa Pacific defeated Vanguard 78-73. Seventh-ranked Fresno Pacific was upset by San Diego Christian in El Cajon by a score of 82-79.
Concordia (7-0) sits atop the GSAC standings one game ahead of Biola (6-1). The Master’s (5-2) is another game back in third place. Westmont, Azusa Pacific and California Baptist are tied for fourth place at 4-3. Fresno Pacific and Vanguard claim seventh place with a 3-4 record.
The Warriors are headed to Fresno on Tuesday to take on the Sunbirds in a 7:30 p.m. game.
