A stifling second-half defense gave Westmont (4-1) a 69-54 win over the Coyotes of the College of Idaho (2-7) on Saturday in the Lamont Ramsey Classic held at Menlo College in Atherton. The Warriors, down 36-34 at halftime, allowed just 18 points by the Coyotes in the second half while putting up 35 of their own.
The Warriors were led in scoring by Blake Bender who tallied 13 points and pulled down eight boards. Niko Brooks added another 11 points, dished off four assist and collected three rebounds.
“We had a nice game out of Niko Brooks,” said Moore. “Blake, Danny (Rasp) and Preston (Branson) all got into double figures. It was a very nice well rounded team game.”
Rasp tallied 10 points and five rebounds while Branson contributed another 10 points toward the Warrior cause.
“Evan Haines had nine rebounds and did some very nice things,” added Moore. “CJ Miller, in his first time on the floor as a Warrior, had six points in eight minutes.
The Warriors held a 20-10 lead half way through the first half, but five and one-half minutes later the Coyotes had tied the game at 26-all. An 8-2 run by the College of Idaho put the Warriors in a 34-28 deficit with just under a minute remaining in the first half.
A three-pointer by Brooks cut the Coyotes’ advantage in half before Krispin Banks (12 points, 5 rebounds) scored with nine seconds on the clock to make it a 36-31 game. Before the half could end, Brooks
reduced the margin to two points (36-34) by converting an ‘and-one’ play.
The second half, however, belonged to the Warriors.
“I thought our defense in the second half was as good as it has been maybe all season,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “We held them to under 40 percent (field goal percentage) and forced 19
turnovers.”
Next up for the Warriors are four Golden State Athletic Conference games over the next two weeks. On Tuesday, Westmont heads to La Mirada for the GSAC opener against the Eagles of #16 Biola. Tip-off is
scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
