Top-seeded Westmont came out blazing in the first half, built a 23-point lead and romped to an 83-59 win over San Diego Christian in the quarterfinals of the GSAC men’s basketball tournament on Thursday night at Murchison Gym.
The 11th-ranked Warriors (25-8) will now host the semifinals on Saturday night. They’ll play No. 4 seed Concordia at 7:30 p.m. The earlier game will pit No. 2 Hope International against Arizona Christian at 5:30. The winners meet for the championship at Concordia in Irvine on Tuesday night.
Westmont shot 65 percent in the first half and led 49-26 at halftime. They finished shooting 58.6 percent for the game.
Midway through the first half, the Warriors and Hawks were tied at 16. Marcus Farrand was inserted into the game and his play ignited the team.
“I’m calling tonight, ‘Things that don’t show-up in the box score’,” said Moore. “Marcus Farrand came into the game when the score was 16 apiece. When he left the game (at 2:36 on the clock), it was not a tie game anymore. The momentum was our way and the lead was 14 (38-24). Marcus brought the energy and the passion that we were missing a little bit. We were playing a little tentative and Marcus played anything but tentative. I thought his play turned the game around and that is something that doesn’t show up in the box score.”
Farrand finished with four points, three rebounds and the admiration of his coach.
CJ Miller led the Westmont attack with 24 points, making 9 of 13 shots, including 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. Jordan Sachs added 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Niko Brooks scored 10 points.
San Diego Christian (7-17), which upset Westmont during the regular season, got 14 points from Kevin Dawson and 13 from Derek Dickerson.
