Westmont captured a pair of games this weekend at the Bud Presley Classic at Menlo College. The Warriors defeated Southern Oregon University, 48-45, on Saturday after topping Cal Maritime, 76-66, on Friday.
The Warriors, ranked No. 17 in the NAIA, improve to 5-2 on the season.
Westmont Men’s Basketball (5-2) warded off a late charge by the Raiders of Southern Oregon (7-2) to claim an 84-82 win on the final day of the Bud Presley Classic at Menlo College. Cory Blau led the Warrior scoring with 20 points.
“I thought we played with really good energy tonight against a very strong team that is very well coached,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “We shot well from the three-point line and were 80 percent from the free throw line.”
Westmont, ranked at number 17 in the NAIA Division I, made 10 of 18 three-point shots (55.6 percent) and completed 20 of 25 free throws. From the field, the Warriors made 27 of 48 attempts (56.3 percent)
Down 7-6 early in the first half, the Raiders put together an 11-1 run to go up by ten (18-8) with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. Jerry Karczewski (8 points) ended the streak with three-pointer but the Raiders answered in kind on the other opposite end. Karczewski drained another three that not only cut the deficit to seven, but started a Warrior 10-0 run to tie the game at 21 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the opening frame.
Two three-pointers by Hayden Anderson and another by David Gunn over the next three minutes helped the Warriors achieve a six point advantage (34-28). Southern Oregon, however, whittled away at the lead, tying the score at 43 with a minute and one-half to go before intermission.
After Anderson drained another three-point shot, the Raiders pulled within one on a couple of free throws. With 11 seconds to go, Karczewski dropped a couple of free throws in of his own to give Westmont a three-point edge at halftime (48-45).
In the second half, Westmont pressed its advantage and achieved a 14-point lead on a layup by Gunn with 11 minutes remaining in regulation.
Southern Oregon, battled back, however, reducing the margin to two points (82-80) when Gary Melvin completed a layup with 39 seconds showing on the clock. On the Warriors’ next possession, Cory Blau was fouled and made one of two free throws to put the Warriors up 83-80.
The Raiders brought the ball up the court and cut the lead to just one point on a layup by Clay Sierra.
Sean Harmon was quickly fouled and, like Blau, made one of two free throws, giving Southern Oregon a final possession. An attempted layup by Melvin was contested and failed to drop through the hoop as time expired.
On Friday Cory Blau tallied 26 points, including 18 in the first half, Blau made 10 of 14 from the field including five of six from beyond the arc.
The Warriors scored first on a layup by Blau but it proved to be their only lead for the next 24 minutes. The Keelhaulers shot 52.9 percent from the floor and took advantage of Westmont mistakes in the first half, scoring 10 points off of turnovers. Cal Maritime led by as much as 12 points in the first half and took a nine-point lead into the locker room at intermission.
The second half was an entirely different story. The Warriors connected for 54.5 percent of their field goal attempts (12 of 22) while holding the Keelhaulers to 34.8 percent. Westmont also took control of the boards in the second half, outrebounding Cal Maritime 15-7.
The Warriors used a 14-5 run to start the second half and take a 51-48 lead with 13:14 to play. Menlo’s Devin Williams forced a 51-all tie with a three-point shot, but Blau responded in kind to spark an 8-0 run and give the Warriors the lead for good.
Westmont’s Jerry Karczewski and Sean McDonnell each contributed 13 points toward the Warriors’ total while Sean Harman added 11. Zach Davis led Cal Maritime with 16 points and nine rebounds. Roman Delgado tallied 12 points and Kameron Holt scored 10.
The Warriors will play again tomorrow on the final day of the Bud Presley Classic by taking on Southern Oregon (6-1) in a two o’clock game.
