Box Score
The Warriors led for all but seven minutes and 22 seconds of the ball game. Unfortunately for Westmont Men's Basketball (21-8, 13-7), that did not include the final 1:23. The Warriors fell to the #24 Cougars of Azusa Pacific (21-9, 14-8 GSAC) by a score of 78-75 in the final Golden State Athletic Conference game for both teams. The Warriors played in front of a packed house with the student body turning out in white shirts to show their support for the Warriors. While the boisterous crowd had plenty to cheer about, there was little to be celebrated at the final buzzer.

"What great fan support, what a great environment for a college basketball game," said Westmont Head Coach John Moore. "Everything looked like it was going our way and it just tipped the wrong direction in the last two minutes. It just feels rough. Our guys are very, very disappointed. I told them that as proud of them as I am, I am even sadder for them." The Warriors led 73-66 with 2:55 to go, but were outscored 12-2 in the final two minutes of the game. At stake in the game were a third-place finish in the conference standings and a home game in the first round of the GSAC Tournament which begins on Thursday. Because of their victory, Azusa Pacific will host sixth-seeded The Masters (18-12, 11-9 GSAC) while fifth-seeded Westmont will travel to take on #15 Fresno Pacific (23-7, 13-7 GSAC). The Warriors and Sunbirds tied for fourth in the GSAC standings, but Fresno receives the number four seed, and a home game, by virtue of an earlier win over Azusa Pacific. Dan Rasp, the Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Week, led the Warriors in scoring with 21 points. The junior forward made seven of nine attempts from the floor including one from beyond the arc. He also made six of seven free throw attempts.

"Blake Bender played his heart out," said Moore. "His energy was contagious and I thought he played a very good basketball game. What doesn't go down in the stats is how good he played defensively against some very good players. What will go down on the stats are his 20 points and 12 rebounds. Chris Jackson produced a different kind of double-double from Bender, tallying 11 points and 10 assists. Azusa was led by Marshall Johnson who recorded 19 points, 5 rebounds and four assists. [box score]