Despite a 77-74 exhibition loss at Cal State Bakersfield, Westmont Men’s Basketball head coach John Moore was pleased with the play of his team.
“We played a really good game,” said Moore. “We had good effort and good execution. It came down to a couple of tough breaks at the end of the game and a couple of guys fouling out. We just couldn’t stop their number one (Tyrone White). But overall I am very proud of our guys and they should be very proud of themselves.”
White tallied 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Roadrunners. Brandon Barnes added 24 points and five rebounds.
“Cooper Damron had a super game, particularly in the first half,” said Moore. “We got very good play out of our all-conference guys. C.J. (Miller) had another double-double and Preston (Branson) had 22 points and three assists and some big boards for us. I thought Preston was as good as anyone on the floor and Cooper and C.J. were the next best guys out there.”
Damron notched 14 points and five rebounds while Miller posted 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Sachs added another 10 points, pulled down four boards and dished off five assists.
“It comes down to attention to details,” asserted Moore. “We had a 12 point lead late in the first half and didn’t close out the half very well. Then we made some mistakes late in the game and didn’t close out the game very well. Those are things that we can fix and we will.”
The Roadrunners went on an 8-0 run in the final minute and one half of the first period with White nailing two of his seven three-pointers and sinking two free throws. The run reduced the Warriors’ halftime advantage to 40-36.
In the second half, the Roadrunners took the lead (58-56) with 11:23 to play on another three-pointer by White. A lay-up by Westmont’s Daniel Carlin tied that game at 58 before Miller scored from beyond the arc to put the Warriors up 61-58.
The Warriors held on to the lead until Barnes scored on a three-pointer with 1:24 to play to give the Roadrunners a 69-67 advantage. Cal State Bakersfield stretched its advantage to as much as eight before Miller brought the Warriors to within one (75-74), scoring from long-distance with three seconds remaining on the clock. Two free throws by White accounted for the final score.
“This (game) will really set us up for Texas,” said Moore referring to the remainder of the Warriors’ road trip. “We’ll get some good rest tonight and have a good Thanksgiving down in Texas.”
The Warriors will play two games against Texas teams at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie. On Friday, the Warriors will take on Jarvis Christian and then on Saturday take on the host team. Both games are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. PST start.
