Westmont ran the table in its two games in Las Vegas to open the men’s basketball season.
On Saturday, the eighth-ranked Warriors defeated the No. 13 Westminster (Utah) by a score of 88-81. The win came one day after defeating No. 23 Montana State Northern 70-56.
“It was a great battle today between two great NAIA schools that play a lot alike,” reported Westmont head coach. “There are quite a few things to take away from a tournament like this.”
The game physical game was close throughout with neither team able to pull away from the other.
“They had a seven point lead in the second half and I thought they might blow it open,” acknowledged Moore. “Then, we had a seven point lead in the second half and I thought we might blow it open. Today’s game felt like about three games in one because of the momentum switches.
“It came down to making free throws late and getting stops on the defensive end,” continued the coach. “We were the team with the last momentum swing.”
Westminster went up by one on a three-point shot with two and one-half minutes. On the next possession, the Warriors hit a big three-pointer to go back up 80-78. The Warriors never lost the lead from that point forward.
“Preston Branson was about 10 for 10 from the free throw line with more than 20 points,” said Moore. “Niko Brooks had a tenacious defensive game and did a nice job on their point guard. Mantas Drungys got a couple of big charges and big rebounds. We had four guys with four fouls and Cooper Damron fouled out so it was a challenge just to finish the game.”
The two teams may meet up again when Westminster travels to Santa Barbara at the end of December to take part in the 37th Annual Tom Byron Classic.
The Warriors’ next opponent will be Cal State San Bernardino on Tuesday in the Warriors only home game this month. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. A radio broadcast of the game will be available on AM 1290 while an internet video broadcast can be accessed at game time on the Westmont Athletics website.
