In a showdown for first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference, No. 8 Westmont Men’s Basketball fell a bit short, losing to No. 11 Concordia (22-5, 12-4 GSAC) by a score of 86-83 in overtime.
Instead of tying the Eagles for first place, the Warriors (18-7, 10-6) have dropped into a three-way tie for third place.
Concordia sits atop the conference standings with Point Loma Nazarene (18-7, 11-5) one game back in second. Westmont, #17 Azusa Pacific (21-7, 10-6) and Biola (20-8, 10-6) are all two games out of first with two to play.
C.J. Miller, who led the Warriors in scoring, tallied 22 points and eight rebounds. Preston Branson added 17 points while Nate Gibbs and Jordan Sachs contributed 14 and 12 points respectively. Brendan Hill dished off 11 assists for the Warriors and pulled down five rebounds.
The Warriors started off the game on a 13-2 run, but the Eagles came soaring back, to tie the game at 13-all. With 2:50 remaining in the first half, the game was tied at 30. Concordia scored eight unanswered points over the next minute and four seconds before the Warriors turned things around.
After Branson made two free throws to cut the lead to six, the Eagles Tommy Granado did the same to make the score 40-32 with just over a minute remaining in the opening frame. After Branson scored on a jumper, Sachs came up with a steal with 34 seconds left before intermission. The Warriors held the ball for the last possession of the half. Branson then drained a three-pointer to make it a three-point game (40-37) at the half in favor of the Eagles.
In the second half, Concordia came out firing and built a 15-point margin (65-50) with eleven minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Sachs got the momentum moving in the Warrior direction. However, the Warriors did not catch the Eagles until Miller scored from beyond the arc with 10 seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime.
“C.J. was clutch,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “Preston carried us in the first half. C.J. Miller and Jordan Sachs were particularly strong in the second half. Jordan helped bring us back when we were down by 15. C.J. willed us back with his big three-pointer.”
Concordia scored first in overtime on a layup by Granado. Miller knocked down another three to give Westmont a brief lead. However, Alex Rudd responded in kind to return the lead to the Eagles – a lead they did not relinquish.
“Our season is far from over,” asserted Moore after the game. “The best of our season is yet to come. I don’t think I’ve ever believed that about a team as much as I do right now. We are looking forward to playing our best basketball. We did some good things tonight. Now, we have to go compete on Tuesday against a very tough, hardnosed Fresno Pacific team. I think our guys will be ready for it.”
The Warriors will host Fresno Pacific at Murchison Gymnasium starting at 7:30 p.m.
