EL CAJON – The production of 95 points scored, a 57.1 field goal percentage, and a 12-of-22 team performance from three-point land generally spells out triumph on most nights. However, on Saturday evening in El Cajon, Westmont Men’s Basketball (11-5, 0-2 GSAC) fell just short of their first Golden State Athletic Conference victory on the season as they succumbed to San Diego Christian (5-6, 1-1) 98-95.
The Warriors found themselves trailing by nine just 10 minutes into the contest. Nevertheless, the men in maroon showed off their resiliency by shooting their way back into the game, cutting the Hawks’ advantage to one point at the half (44-43).
In the second half, the two teams portrayed a modern day shootout as each side dropped over 50 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Although the Warriors shot the ball profoundly, the Hawks were equally impressive from the field themselves (57.1 percent), shooting a notable 8-of-20 from beyond the arc.
One statistic that wasn’t equivalent between the two squads was turnovers. Westmont committed 13 turnovers on the night, to SDCC’s seven, with three detrimental giveaways in the last four minutes of play.
The Warriors also visited the free-throw line 18 fewer times than the Hawks (20 to 38), and shot a worse percentage from the charity stripe (55 percent to 68 percent).
“The game came down to a mix of untimely turnovers and missed free throws,” expressed Westmont head coach John Moore. “We also lacked consistency, especially when it came to our seniors.”
Two seniors, C.J. Miller (26 points, 12 rebounds) and Mantas Drungys (22 points, 4 rebounds), combined for over half of the Warriors’ total points, with only one additional Warrior – sophomore Billy Keller (11 points, 5 assists) – posting double-digit scoring figures. Westmont’s other three seniors pooled 11 points as well.
“Mantas, who tied his career high, C.J., and Billy had special games tonight, but we need to find a way to have additional players step up,” stated Moore.
In other GSAC action on Saturday evening, #20 Vanguard (15-2, 2-0) defeated Biola (11-7, 1-1) by a score of 80-60, pushing their winning streak to 10 games. The Warriors will look to end the Lion’s recent dominance on Tuesday, as the teams clash at 7:30 inside Murchison Gymnasium.
Additionally, a pair of top 10 teams fell in GSAC competition. Arizona Christian (14-3, 0-2), ranked seventh in the NAIA, was defeated by The Master’s (13-4, 1-1) 77-76 in double overtime. Concordia (14-4, 1-1), ranked 10th, was knocked off by #25 Hope International (14-3, 2-0) 66-64.
