Westmont didn’t have an answer for Concordia’s Stephen Grosey.
The junior forward scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to power the Eagles to an 83-76 win over the Warriors in a GSAC men’s basketball game at Murchison Gym on Saturday night.
“Allowing their best player to be as good as he was tonight with 14 rebounds and 28 points was difficult,” Westmont coach John Moore said. “He played exceptionally well tonight. We knew coming in that he was going to be a great rebounder. There as a time late in the game when we needed a free throw rebound and we just couldn’t get a board against him. Part of that is inexperience, but tonight we were a little but inconsistent as well.”
Westmont built and eight-point lead in the first half, but Concordia made plays down the stretch and tied the score at halftime.
“I knew we really needed to close the half well, because both teams were in foul trouble. But to go into halftime with a tie ball game instead of a six- or eight-point lead gave them a lot of confidence coming into the second half,” said John Moore.
Cory Blau led Westmont with 17 points and five rebounds in his 24 minutes of play. Freshman Gerry Karczewski finished with 12 points.
“There were definitely some positives tonight, we just need to learn how to close out a game,” said Moore.
The Warriors now hold a record of 4-4, 1-1 GSAC. Concordia is 8-1, 2-0.
