Box Score Westmont Men's Basketball ranked at number 12 in the NAIA, continues to struggle in home games, falling to Point Loma Nazarene (13-6, 6-4 GSAC) 82-68 in a Golden State Athletic Conference game on Saturday night. The Warriors are now 15-4 overall and 7-3 in GSAC play. All three of the Warriors' GSAC losses have come at home. The Warriors outshot the Sea Lions 49.0% (24 of 49) to 42.1% (24 of 57). However, Westmont lost the battle of the boards (46-24) and was out shot from the three-point arc with Point Loma draining seven from three-point range to the Warriors' three. Point Loma also shot better from the free throw line, making 27 of 34 (79.4%) to Westmont's 17 of 29 (58.6%).


The Warriors led for most of the first half, though never by more than five points. With Westmont up 22-18 with five minutes remaining before intermission, Point Loma went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 25-22. As it turned out, the Sea Lions never relinquished the lead. At the halftime buzzer, Mark Klassen drained a three to give the Sea Lions a five-point advantage (33-28). In the first four minutes of the second half, Point Loma produced a 12-7 run to go up 45-35. A layup by Niko Brooks reduced the margin back to single digits until the Sea Lions' Wil Bush nailed a three-pointer to put Point Loma up 51-40 with 10:50 to play. Over the next eight and one-half minutes, Point Loma opened up an 18-point lead (73-55) - a margin that proved too big for the Warriors to overcome. Cooper Damron tallied 13 points and four rebounds for the Warriors.


However, halfway through the second period, Damron suffered a leg injury and was removed from the game. His prognosis is unknown. Preston Branson also scored 13 points while Jordan Sachs added 10 points and three rebounds. In other GSAC play, #10 The Master's (15-6, 7-3) was a 60-47 winner over San Diego Christian (5-12, 1-9). Sixteenth-ranked Azusa Pacific (18-4, 7-3) held on to defeated Hope International (9-8, 8-2) by a score of 61-51, avenging a loss to the Royals earlier this season.


Number 18 Concordia (17-4, 7-3) posted a 72-65 win over Fresno Pacific (12-9, 3-7) and Biola (15-7, 5-5) recorded an 86-84 overtime win at Vanguard (13-8, 5-5). As a result of tonight's action, Westmont has fallen into a four-way tie for first place with Azusa Pacific, Concordia and The Master's. Point Loma is one game back in fifth place. One game farther back is Biola and Vanguard who are tied for sixth. Seven of the conference's ten teams are within two games of the leaders with eight games left to play. Westmont's next opponent will be Vanguard on Tuesday, January 31. Tip-off in Murchison is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. [box score] [More photos]