Box Score
The one hundred-first game between the Westmont and Biola men's basketball teams went the way of the Warriors on Tuesday night in Murchison Gymnasium. Westmont (13-3), ranked eighth in the NAIA, earned a 77-61 win over Biola (10-7) on opening night in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Westmont now leads the series 53-48. "Our two senior, four-year guys were special tonight," said Westmont head coach John Moore in reference to guards Preston Branson and Jordan Sachs. "Between those two guys, they had six assists and no turnovers, lots of rebounds, and shot us into a win." Branson, returning to the team after experiencing a punctured lung on December 29 in the Westminster game, scored 23 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished off three assists and pilfered the ball three times. "Preston had a gutsy performance," said Moore. "He went out there and played with a great tenor of mental toughness, making big shots for us. He made free throws that his arm didn't feel like he could shoot. And Jordan had an extra special game."
Sachs notched 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. After Biola's Mike Kurtz (14 points, 10 rebounds) opened up the game with a conventional three-point play, the Warriors rattled off the next eleven points. With 12:44 remaining in the opening frame Mantas Drungys - who also returned to the Warrior lineup after sustaining injuries in the Westminster game - scored on a layup to stretch the Warrior advantage to 10 points (18-8). Biola responded with a 16-5 run to take a 24-23 lead before Branson nailed a shot from beyond the arc for the Warriors. The Eagles tied the game at 26 on a jumper by David Swartz (4 points, 3 rebounds) with 7:18 to play. The Eagle's Zack Zaragoza landed a jumper which was countered with a layup by Drungys to knot the game at 28. Zaragoza then launched a shot from downtown to put the Eagles up 31-28 with 4:16 remaining in the half. However, the Warriors closed out the half on a 12-4 run to take a 40-35 lead into the locker room.
C.J. Miller provided half those points, four on an "and-one" three pointer. The scored remained close through the first six and one-half minutes of the second half. Then with 13:26 remaining in regulation, a layup by Cooper Damron (5 points, 8 rebounds) ignited a 10-0 Warrior run that gave Westmont a 56-41 lead with 10:23 to play. However, eight straight points by the Eagles, including two three-pointers by Kyle Bailey (16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), narrowed the Warrior margin to seven (56-49) with 7:52 showing on the clock. Three minutes later, the Eagles would pull to within six (60-54), but that was as close as Biola would get.
Westmont scored its final 12 points at the free throw line. The rest of the games on the GSAC's opening night turned out to be upsets. Arizona Christian (11-2) won its inaugural GSAC game by defeating #15 Concordia (11-4) by a score of 84-82. Hope International (16-1) defeated The Master's (11-5) on the Mustangs' home court by a score of 73-66 and San Diego Christian (4-6) claimed a road win, defeating Vanguard (10-5) by a mark of 74-67. "It tells me that the GSAC is better and more even than I thought," said Moore of Tuesday's GSAC results. "I just told our team that we are now the guys with the bulls-eye on our back. Everyone is going to give us their best shot. Our biggest challenge is the next game, which in this case is San Diego Christian." That next game will be played at Murchison Gymnasium on Saturday, January 12, beginning at 7:30 p.m. [box score] [more photos]