Preston Branson’s 22 points gave the junior guard more than 1,000 for his career and helped ninth-ranked Westmont to a 84-61 Golden State Athletic Conference win over the Eagles of Biola (17-8, 7-6 GSAC). Biola came into town on a five-game winning streak that included wins over Azusa Pacific and Concordia.
Branson, who leads the GSAC in scoring at 17.5 points per game, becomes the 38th Warrior to eclipse the 1,000 point mark. Currently at 1,007 points, Branson is tied with Tine Hardeman (1951-52, 53-55) for 36th place on the all-time scoring list.
“You want the player who is scoring the most to play well on a night when you are playing a hot team,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “Preston certainly did that tonight and he did it with some great athletic plays. I though he was very special tonight.”
The win keeps the Warriors (18-4, 10-3) in first place in the GSAC standings, one game ahead of a three-way tie for third consisting of #11 Azusa Pacific (20-5, 9-4), #16 Concordia (19-5, 9-4) and Point Loma Nazarene (16-6, 9-4). The Master’s (16-8, 8-5), which lost to Concordia 74-62, is in fifth place, two games behind the Warriors. Biola is another game back in sixth place.
The game marked the 100th meeting of the two teams. Westmont now holds a 52-48 advantage.
The first half was close throughout. Biola posted the biggest lead of the opening frame, leading 22-16 with 10:39 showing on the clock. But C.J. Miller (7 points, 11 rebounds) drained a trey and Niko Brooks (5 points) followed suit to tie the game at 22 with 9:52 left. At halftime, Biola held a slim 37-35 advantage.
Five seconds into the second half, the Warriors evened the game at 27-all on a jumper by Branson. Dave Hopkins (11 points, 7 rebounds) then scored for the Eagles to put Biola back up by two. After a missed layup by Branson, Nate Gibbs (17 points, 8 rebounds) tipped the ball in and was fouled on the play.
“Nate Gibbs did not miss a shot,” said Moore. “On a night where C.J. didn’t shoot as well as he normally does, Nate was perfect from the free throw line and seven of seven from the field. We needed to have a low post scorer and we needed to have some face-up jump shots and he was able to do both. He also rebounded the ball. The tip-in in the beginning of the second half when he had an and-one and Lucas Miller’s two three-pointers were the biggest momentum plays we had in the game.”
With the Warrior up by four (47-43) and just less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation, T.J. Lipold (6 points, 3 assists) nailed his second three-pointers to launch a 22-4 Warrior run. Six of those points came in the form of two three-point field goals by Lucas Miller.
“Lucas Miller has Westmont in his DNA and in his blood stream,” said Moore. “He loves the Warriors and he wants to contribute. He has been phenomenal in practice and he played tonight just the way he plays in practice. He went in for his brother who was in foul trouble. If C.J. had not been in foul trouble, Lucas probably would not have gotten those minutes and we would not have had those open shots. He played very well out there.”
The run gave the Warriors a 69-47 margin with 9:06 remaining on the clock. Biola would get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
“We’ve had all these close wins, it is nice to have a little bit of a cushion in a game,” said Moore. “Coming into tonight’s game Biola was the hottest team in the GSAC. They have a coach in Dave Holmquist that I respect as much as anyone in the country. So, for us to come and play as well as we did is a real tribute to our guys.”
Westmont shot 58.8 percent in the game (30 of 51) including 66.7 percent from three-point distance (8 of 12). At the charity stripe, the Warriors were 16 of 18 (88.9%).
The Eagles were led is scoring by Chase Adams who tallied 15 points and three rebounds. Biola shot 35.9% for the game. Biola entered the game as the fourth ranked team in the NAIA in points allowed, giving up just 60.75 points per game. The 84 points scored by Westmont is the most Biola has allowed in regulation. Vanguard scored the same amount but in an overtime game in which Biola prevailed.
Next up for the Warriors is a road game against Hope International on Saturday.
