Box Score Preston Branson tallied a career-high 40 points, including 15 from the charity stripe, to give Westmont Men's Basketball (10-3) an 87-84 win over the University of British Columbia (15-3) in the championship game of the Tom Byron Classic. The win marks the fourth championship title in a row for the Warriors.

Dan Rasp tallied 19 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Warriors while Niko Brooks added twelve points and six assists. Branson, who was named the tournament MVP, was 12 for 21 from the floor and 15 of 18 from the free throw line. Rasp and Brooks were also named to the All-Tournament team.

"Preston really was spectacular," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "If you can score 40 points in a quiet way, he did."

Westmont put together an 18-point lead in the first half to lead the Thunderbirds 34-16 with 9:26 to go before intermission. The Warriors were aided by help from the bench in the person of CJ Miller. Though he played just four minutes, Miller went three for three from beyond the arc.

"It was a team win," said Moore. "I thought our team executed. CJ Miller hit those threes to take them out of the zone. Matt Hornbuckle played outstanding defense. Dan Rasp looked more like himself. Niko Brooks had by far his best game as a Warrior. He guided the team well – he made good plays and really good decisions."

The Thunderbirds began chipping away at the Warrior lead, reducing the deficit to 11 points by halftime (46-35). Not until the final two minutes, however, did they get closer than six points. A traditional three-point play by Alex Murphy (14 points, 4 rebounds) made it an 84-80 game with 1:41 left in regulation. After Branson added a point on a free throw, Kamar Burke (8 points, 6 rebounds) scored on a layup to reduce the margin to three (85-82) with 1:18 to go.

Branson answered by driving the lane to score the Warriors' final points and restore a five point lead (87-82) with 1:02 remaining. With 48 seconds left, Josh Whyte (15 points) scored on another layup to pull the Thunderbirds to within a long-range bucket once more. Westmont did not score on its ensuing possession, but did run 35 seconds off the clock, giving British Columbia one last chance to tie the game. With three seconds left, Murphy took a wide-open three from the corner. The ball rolled around the rim not once, but twice, before falling harmlessly to the floor as the final buzzer sounded.

"My favorite thing as a coach is to win on a defensive stop, that is what we got to do tonight," said Moore. "My second favorite thing is to win on an offensive make. To win two games on the last play of the game in your own tournament is a sign of a team coming together.

"As a coaching staff, we talked about whether we should foul when we are up by three," said Moore. "There was one coach who wanted to and the rest of us said, "No". But, next time around, I might change my mind."

The Warriors will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Vanguard in a return to Golden State Athletic Conference play. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

In the consolation game of the Tom Byron Classic, Valley City State (N.D.) picked up an 80-69 win over Bethany Lutheran (Minn.). Aaron Duske posted 20 points for Valley City and Calvin Kraft added 18 more. Tyler Macomber notched 13 points and 8 rebounds. Bethany Lutheran was led by Sami Onsomu, Gavin Kroehler and Alex Weldon, each with 10 points. In addition to Branson, Rasp, and Brooks, the all-tournament team consisted of Whyte and Murphy from British Columbia and Duske from Valley City State. [VCSU-BLC box score] [UBC-WC box score]