Westmont Men’s Basketball (14-3, 6-2 GSAC), ranked at No. 16 in the NAIA, pulled off a 90-85 win over No. 6 Concordia (15-4, 5-3) on Saturday night in a Golden State Athletic Conference showdown in Irvine.
The win ended a 10-game losing streak to the Eagles, dating back to the 2005-06 season.
Junior guard Preston Branson scored 35 points, going 12 of 14 from the floor and 10 of 13 from the free throw line. Senior point guard Niko Brooks added another 18, making seven of eight from the floor while junior guard Jordan Sachs tallied 14 points with a seven-of-eight performance from the free throw line.
“Our point guards Niko Brooks and Brendan Hill were pretty special tonight,” said Westmont head coach John Moore, Brendan was very special, he had nine assists.”
The Warriors shot an astounding 73.8 percent from the floor (31 of 42), the second best percentage in Westmont history.
“We shot a lot of layups -and made a lot,” noted Moore. “Any time you can hold off on making a lot of three-point shots against Concordia, good things are going to happen. Anytime you can shoot that kind of percentage against a team like Concordia that is so strong defensively on their floor is very encouraging. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country.”
The Warriors and Eagles each made 31 shots from the floor with four of those shots going in from beyond the arc. The difference in the game came down to free throws. Westmont made 24 of 33 (72.7%) while Concordia made 19 of 32 (59.4%). As a team, the Warriors are averaging 74.7 percent from the charity stripe – fourth best in the NAIA.
Westmont’s biggest lead of the game (56-44) came with 12:58 to play when senior Lucas Miller scored from three-point range just after Sachs had done the same. However, the Eagles fought their way back, eventually taking the lead 71-69 on a traditional three-point play by Austin Simon with 4:52 remaining in the second half.
Fourteen seconds later, Sachs sank two free throws to tie the game for the fourteenth time. After an Eagle’s turnover on the next possession, Branson converted his own and-one play to give Westmont a 74-71 lead with 3:43 left on the clock.
“Jordan played a nice game,” noted Moore. “We kept trying to get the ball into his hands late in the shot clock. And Preston – what a performance.”
Sachs added two more points on free throws with 2:52 to go before Cameron Gliddon connected on a three-pointer to cut the Warriors’ margin to just two (76-74). With 2:03 remaining, Cooper Damron scored on another traditional three-point play to restore Westmont’s five point lead.
The Eagles responded by cutting the lead to just one point with a free throw by Edward Wills and yet another and-one play by Donnell Phifer. The Warriors brought the ball back up the court and Sachs fed the ball to C.J. Miller on the baseline. Miller drained a three to make the score 82-78.
“That was a big, big three-pointer by C.J.,” said Moore, “just after Concordia had made their own three-point play.
With 49 seconds left, Edwards hit a jumper to close the gap to two. After two free throws by Branson, Brooks stole the ball and dashed down the court for a layup, putting Westmont up six (86-80). From that point of the game on, it was a matter of making free throws, and the Warriors made four of six to seal the deal.
The Warriors entered tonight’s game in a four-way tie for first place in the GSAC standings with all four of the teams atop the standings playing each other. In the other battle of top teams, The Master’s (14-5, 6-2) defeated Point Loma Nazarene (12-5, 5-3) by a score of 66-63. As a result, Westmont and The Master’s are tied for first while Concordia and Point Loma Nazarene fall into a three-way tie for third place with #7 Azusa Pacific (15-4, 5-3).
Westmont will finish off the first round of GSAC play on Tuesday when it travels to Fresno to take on the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific (12-7, 3-5). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
