A 13-0 second-half run proved to be just what No. 15 Westmont Men’s Basketball needed to defeated the up-and-coming Warriors of William Jessup on Saturday night in Murchison Gymnasium. The Westmont Warriors prevailed by a score of 80-76 in the Golden State Athletic Conference affair.
“It was a defense and rebounding win,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “William Jessup is an outstanding team. They are athletic, they are big, they are tough, they are hardworking and they are well coached.
“That was a good GSAC win for us against a team that I wasn’t sure we could outrebound. They are top five in the country in rebounding, outboarding their opponents by almost 12 a game. That says a lot about the toughness of our guys.”
Westmont (15-4, 4-2 GSAC) claimed 38 boards to Jessup’s 31. Sean McDonnell and Samuel Bentz each had six while Cory Blau and Hayden Anderson tallied five apiece.
Offensively, Blau led the way with 24 points. Sean Harman added 16, McDonnell 13 and Anderson 10.
The win gives Westmont an 11-0 record at home this season and extends their home winning streak to 13 games going back to last year.
Michael Patterson scored on a layup for Jessup (13-6, 5-3) before Jerry Karczewski recorded his only field goal of the night to put Westmont ahead 71-67. Andrew Smith responded in kind, however, pulling Jessup to within two again (71-69) with 3:37 showing on the game clock.
Nearly two minutes later, Blau scored on a layup to restore Westmont’s four-point lead. Darius Clement returned the margin to two with a pair of free throws.
Then, with 57 seconds left, Blau nailed another three-point shot, giving Westmont a five point advantage (76-71) – Westmont’s largest lead in nearly 28 minutes of play.
Eight seconds later, Kelton Newman drained a pair of free throws for Jessup to make it a 76-73 contest. With 16 second left to play, Floyd made one of two free throws, to again get Jessup within two points.
Two seconds later, Blau was fouled and made both shots, putting Westmont up 78-74. Saajid Polite then scored on a layup with 4.2 seconds left, making it a two point game once again.
After the pass was inbounded by Westmont, Harman was fouled with 3.6 to play. He sank both free throws, scoring the final points of the game and securing the win for Westmont.
For the game, Westmont made 25 of 27 shots from the free throw line.
“Our free throw shooting was excellent,” said Moore. “When you shoot 92 percent from the free throw line, you are going to win a lot of games. Free throw shooting is essential. Sean’s two free throws to close out the game meant that we weren’t going to have to keep them from shooting a three-pointer to tie the game. That allows you to play defense a little bit differently at the end.”
With the win, Westmont takes over sole possession of fourth place in the GSAC standings. Seventh-ranked Hope International (17-3, 6-1) defeated #10 Biola (19-3, 6-2) this evening to claim sole possession of first place. Biola is one half-game back of Hope International and one-half game ahead of #10 Arizona Christian (17-3, 5-2). Westmont is half a game behind Arizona Christian in the highly competitive conference.