Box Score Preston Branson put up 16 points and Jordan Sachs added another 12 as Westmont Men's Basketball (2-0) defeated UC Merced (0-1) by a score of 83-64 on Saturday afternoon at Murchison Gymnasium. The game marks the inauguration of men's basketball at UC Merced. Founded in 2005, UC Merced was accepted as a member of the NAIA in June. The school currently sponsors four sports including men's and women's cross country and women's volleyball. John Sykes, the Bobcats head coach, led the team the past two seasons when it competed as a club team.


With Westmont down 23-25 and 6:40 remaining in the first half, Branson scored on a layup to ignite a 15-2 Warrior run. By halftime, Westmont had pushed their advantage to 13 points (45-32). Five minutes into the second half, the Warriors reached a 20-point lead for the first time (56-36). The Warriors saw 13 different players score and all 14 collect at least one rebound. TJ Lipold tallied eight points for the Warriors and had three steals. Jason Ritchey, Landon Boucher, and Nate Gibbs each had seven points with Gibbs adding a team-high five rebounds. Aki Chambers led the Bobcats with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Chambers made 10 of 17 attempts from the floor. Anthony Shephard and Griffin Alexander each add another 10 points to UC Merced's totals. Next Friday evening, the Warriors will play their first road game of the year, traveling east to take on the Coyotes of Cal State San Bernardino. Tip-off is scheduled for seven o'clock. [box score]