C.J. Miller scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as Westmont fell at Cal State San Bernardino, 88-81, in a nonconference men’s basketball game on Wednesday night.
The Warriors (1-2) kept the game close, but they had trouble containing San Bernanrdino guard Lacy Haddock and protecting the ball. They committed 24 turnovers. Haddock recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 assists.
“I thought we fought hard, as well as fought back hard,” said Westmont coach John Moore. “Early on, I thought we played a bit tentatively, but we got it going in the second half. We got bit by the turnover bug a little bit (Westmont turned the ball over 24 times) in critical situations, and even though we outrebounded (CSUSB) 46 to 35, there were key sequences that the offensive rebounds went against us, and those two things proved to be key in our defeat.”
One bright spot for the Warriors was their much improved free throw shooting. The team went perfect in the first half, knocking down all six of their attempts. Overall, Westmont hit 17 of 20, or 85 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe – much improved from their 52.3 percent mark through two games this season.
Sophomore Billy Keller scored 13 points, Jason Ritchey scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Brendan Hill added seven points and nine assists for the Warriors.
