The Westmont men’s basketball team missed a shot at the buzzer and lost to Vanguard, 76-75, in Golden State Athletic Conference game on Thursday at Murchison Gym.
With 4:31 to play, Jared Brown converted a 3-pointer to put Westmont up 73-68, their biggest lead of the second half. Then, with 2:48 to play, Garrett White hit the Lions’ second consecutive 3-pointer to give Vanguard a 74-73 lead, silencing a now-nervous home crowd.
Thirty seconds later, Jalen Townsell hit a pair of free throws to put the Warriors up 75-74. Unfortunately for the home team, they would not score again.
With 12 seconds to play, the Lions fouled Brown and sent him to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. Brown could not get the first free throw to fall, and the Lions regained possession before calling timeout.
On the ensuing play, Vanguard’s Isaac Davis hit a pull-up jumper, putting the Lions up 76-75.
With 3.6 seconds left, the Warriors put the ball in the hands of Cly Griffith. The transfer drove to the basket before taking a contested layup that wouldn’t fall as the club dropped another game in the final moments.
“Our guys could have given up many times this season, but they refuse to,” said Westmont coach Landon Boucher. “This will be another instance where we don’t.”
Brown led the Warriors with 20 points as he shot four of seven from beyond the arc. The guard also led the team with four assists. Nate Meithof finished with 19 points, and, along with Griffith and Townsell, led the team with five rebounds.
“I thought Jared played about as hard as one could and hit some heroic shots down the stretch,” noted Boucher. “I proud of how hard he defended too.”
Westmont will celebrate senior night when they take the court on Saturday against Life Pacific.