Eighteen points from senior guard Preston Branson and 16 from senior forward Cooper Damron helped the Westmont men’s basketball team pick up a 69-65 overtime win at Southwestern Assemblies of God (SAGU) of Texas on Saturday. Damron also had eight rebounds.
The Warriors improved to 6-1 while the Lions fell to 4-1.
“This kind of game is good for us,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “We’ve lost a couple of squeakers including one that didn’t count in the Bakersfield exhibition. To play against a team of this quality on their home court and to come away with this kind of victory is a tribute to our guys’ competitive toughness.”
Westmont won despite giving the ball away 29 times to Southwestern Assemblies’ 13.
“If you look at a game stat sheet and you shoot 53 percent on the road, almost 43 percent from the three-point line, 84 percent from the free throw line and outrebound the opponent by eight rebounds on their floor, you’d think we won the game by 25,” said Moore regarding the stats. “(The Lions) really scrapped and got plenty of steals. We gave the ball to them a little bit too much.”
SAGU had 17 steals in the game.
The Warriors played a solid first half, using a 15-0 run to take a 26-9 lead. C.J. Miller (10 points, 3 rebounds) started the run with a three-pointer before Niko Brooks (13 points) stole the ball and scored on a layup.
Miller scored the next five points on a jumper and another three point field goal before Jordan Sachs (8 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds) finished off the run with yet another long distance bucket
“I thought we got good play out of all of our starters,” said Moore.
At halftime, the Warriors were still up by ten (36-26) and held on to the lead until the Lions’ Jonathan Walter nailed scored from beyond the arc with 4:53 left in regulation, tying the game at 46. Eleven seconds later, after a Warrior turnover, Dominique Rambo hit another three, giving SAGU its first lead since the score was 6-5.
Branson sank two free throws to limit the lead to one before Devante Dunn made one of two from the free throw line to make the score 50-48 in favor of the Lions with four minutes to play.
Westmont recaptured the lead with a three-pointer by Branson before Dunn made two free throws to give a one-point advantage back to SAGU (51-50). With 1:34 remaining on the second half clock, Brooks snatched the lead for the Warriors when he converted two free throws. However, nine seconds later, Walter hit a jumper making it a one-point game in SAGU’s favor.
With 25 seconds left, Walter was fouled and gave the Lions a three-point advantage (56-53) by putting both charity shots through the hoop.
“Jordan Sachs had the biggest shot of the game with 10 seconds left to put it into overtime,” said Moore of the senior’s three-point field goal. “We had to get a defensive stop at the other end, which we were able to do.”
In the overtime, SAGU scored first on a jumper by Emmanuel Adoyi. However, Damron scored on a jumper more than a minute later, tying the game at 58. After a jumper by the Lions’ Rambo, Branson converted another two free throws to make it 60-60.
With 2:17 left in overtime, Rambo connected from beyond the arc, giving SAGU a 63-60 lead. However, Damron and Branson went four-for-four from the charity stripe to recapture the lead for Westmont (64-63) with 1:47 remaining.
Adoyi then made one of two free throws to tie the game at 64 before Damron returned to the free throw line and put Westmont up by two with 1:08 to play. Fifteen seconds later, Rambo made one of two free throws, making the score 66-65 in favor of Westmont.
With 25 second left, Damron scored on a jumper, putting the Warriors up 68-65. The Lions brought the ball down the court and Walter misfired on a three. Caleb Gentry nabbed the offensive board and tried a three himself but was also off the mark. Mantas Drungys snatched the defensive rebound and was fouled. Mantas made the first of two free throws, sealing the win for the Warriors.
The Warriors will now return home to prepare for their next game on Friday, November 30 at UC Merced.
