Dan Rasp led the Warriors in scoring, putting up 20 points to help the Warriors record a 78-73 overtime road win against the sixteenth ranked Mustangs of the Master’s College.
“Danny Rasp was very special again tonight,” said Moore. “He made some very clutch baskets for us. Over the past two games he is shooting 57 percent.”
Down 9-8 less than five minutes into the first half, the Warriors produced an 11-0 run that started with a traditional three-point play by Blake Bender. Matt LeDuc contributed a layup and three-point bucket during the run which Rasp capped off with a layup. By halftime, the Warriors had given back just two points and took a 35-27 advantage into the locker room.
Westmont still held a seven point lead (59-52) with three minutes left in regulation, but the Mustangs would out scored the Warriors 10-3 in the final minutes to produce a 62-62 tie as the clock expired.
“It was a very well played game offensively on our part until the last two minutes of the game when we allowed them to tie it up,” said Moore. “A great challenge in the game of basketball is to be on the road playing against a team that has just tied up the game to put it into overtime. I thought our guys did a good job of taking the momentum back (in overtime).
Westmont scored first in the overtime period on a layup by Chris Jackson. After the Mustang’s Everett Bryson made one of two free throws, Rasp hit back-to-back buckets to put the Warriors up 68-63 with 3:18 to play.
Dean Hadley nailed a three-pointer for the Mustangs to make the score 68-66 with 2:24 to play before Bender responded with a layup that gave Westmont a 70-66 lead with 1:58 remaining. Except for a dunk by Hadley, the rest of the scoring was accomplished from the charity strip.
“Andrew made crucial free throws for us down the stretch,” reported Moore. “He made seven in a row at the end of the game.”
Schmalbach recorded 11 points and pulled down three rebounds while LeDuc posted 12 points. Jackson scored eight points, collected seven rebounds, added five assists and tallied four steals.”
“Blake Bender was a couple of rebounds away from a double-double,” added Moore. Bender recorded 14 points and eight rebounds.
In other Golden State Athletic Conference action, #3 Concordia won at California Baptist 68-65 while #5 Biola won 78-53 at San Diego Christian. #22 Azusa Pacific defended its home court 78-69 against Point Loma Nazarene and Fresno Pacific earned a 74-52 road win at Hope International.
As a result of tonight’s conference results, Concordia and Biola remain tied for first with GSAC records of 13-2. Tied for third place at 10-5 are Fresno Pacific and Azusa Pacific. Westmont and The Master’s are tied for fifth with 9-6 marks. California Baptist is in seventh place with a 7-8 record and Point Loma Nazarene claims eighth place with a 5-11 record. Vanguard is in ninth with a record of 4-11, San Diego Christian is in ninth at 3-12 and Hope International rounds out the standings with a record of 0-15.
The Warriors will head to La Mirada on Tuesday for a match-up with the Eagles of Biola then host Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday. At both games, fans will be asked to join in activities inspired by the ‘Coaches against Cancer’ cause.
