Preston Branson scored 23 points and C.J. Miller recorded a double-double, helping Westmont produce a 68-64 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday night in San Diego.
Miller tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds while Nate Gibbs added another 12 points. The Warriors ((7-2, 1-1 GSAC) have won three of their last four games played in Point Loma’s Golden Gymnasium.
“We had great energy out of our guys coming back off the Azusa lost, knowing they had to come down here and play against a very good Point Loma team,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “I thought CJ Miller was as good as anybody we had out there. He took crucial charges at very important times — one that took away a basket of theirs late in the game.”
The game remained a close battle throughout, with neither team holding more than a seven-point lead. Point Loma went up (15-8) on a traditional three-point play by the Sea Lions’ Rhett Beal with 12:07 remaining in the first half. Gibbs got the Warriors back on track with a layup to start an 8-0 run. After two free throws by Jordan Sachs and a layup by Branson, Gibbs stole the ball from the Sea Lions and completed the run with another layup. At the half, Westmont was up 33-31.
With 3:13 remaining in regulation, the Warriors posted their largest lead when Gibbs hit a jumper. The Sea Lions’ Todd Campbell hit two free throws but Branson responded with two free-throws of his own to maintain the seven-point advantage.
However, Point Loma scored the next five points, on a free throw by Beal, a jumper by Campbell and a layup by Hayden Lescault. As a result, Westmont held a narrow 64-62 lead with 45 seconds remaining in the game. Four seconds later, Branson converted two free throws, however, Beal quickly scored on a layup to make the score 66-64 with 34 seconds left. Sachs and Miller each recorded a free throw in the final 15 seconds to account for the final score.
“Nate Gibbs had a nice game,” said Moore, “and Preston is a Warrior. He has so much heart. Matt Hornbuckle only scored two, but in his 21 minutes he made a lot of things happen for us.”
Westmont shot 60.5 percent from the floor (23 of 38) including three of five from three-point range. Critical to the Warrior’s win was a 19-for-23 performance from the free throw line (82.6%). Point Loma made 23 of 48 from the field (47.9%) including four of 16 from beyond the arc. The Sea Lions were led in scoring by Beal with 23 points and Campbell with 15.
The Warriors will not play again until December 29 and 30 when they host the Thirty-Sixth Annual Tom Byron Classic. Westmont will host Trinity Christian (Ill.) after the opening game between UC Merced and British Columbia. The first game begins at 3:00 p.m. with Westmont’s game beginning at 7:30.
