By Christy Cain
(SANTA CLARITA, Calif.) Games on the road are never easy. Any athlete will tell you that there is nothing simple about stepping on to a court that is not yours, to play in front of a sold out crowd that is pulling against you. But most athletes will also tell you that those are the most fun games to play. Because it is in the small, cracker box gyms that are filled to capacity with screaming fans, that you make it your teams mission to silence the crowd.
Tonight, the Westmont men's basketball team (16-8, 8-3 GSAC) did just that as they stepped on to the court against The Masters College (7-15, 2-9) and walked away with an 81-68 victory.
The Warriors came out of the gate hot tonight and quickly worked their way up to a nineteen point lead, not even allowing the Mustangs to reach double digit points for the first twelve minutes of the game. Westmont was locked in on defense and unloading shots on offense– building the momentum with every play.
With eight minutes left in the first half, the Warriors held a 27-8 lead, but a three pointer from The Masters' Harrison White sparked some energy amongst his team and they suddenly began to rally back. As the clock wound down, the Mustangs managed to put up 21 additional points while also closing the scoreboard deficit to just six points. Going into halftime Westmont held on to a slim 35-29 lead.
"It was a gritty win," opened head coach John Moore. "We have had quite a few double figure leads this season where we have allowed opponents to come back.  Tonight was  tough because while we were ahead, the Masters did a nice job of closing the gap."
Thankfully there were a couple of great momentum shifts in the second half that allowed the Warriors to continually maintain the lead. While the Mustangs got within three points of a tie, they were never able to fully close the gap or pull ahead
Tonight, Westmont knew that defense was going to be a key as they took on Division I transfer Russell Byrd who currently holds the title of leading scorer in the GSAC. "We got really, really good defensive play out of Hayden (Anderson), Sam (Bentz) and Nate (Marsing). They all went up against Byrd who is probably the most talented player in the conference right now," raved John Moore. The defensive trio was able to hold the Michigan State transfer-who averages 19 points per game- to just twelves points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore Sam Bentz had yet another standout performance this evening, knocking down two shots from outside the arc and one from the key, totaling eight points and five rebounds. "This was the first game that Sam has started as a Warrior," explained Moore. "We decided to go with Sam tonight and it paid off. I know everyone really enjoys playing with him. He is such an unselfish player, who is willing to sacrifice for his team. Since Jared Wilson cannot play anymore this season, I think he is channeling his work ethic into Sam." Wilson, a senior captain, has been sidelined for most of the year with an injury, but continues to be a strong leader and vital part of this team.
Alongside Bentz was freshman Jerry Karczewski, who never seems to be shaken by the situations on the court. No matter what circumstance he finds himself in, Jerry is calm, cool and collected. And tonight you can add 'clutch' to that list. "Jerry plays with ice in his veins," concluded Moore. "He is a clutch player for us. He buried three huge three pointers for our team in the second half that allowed us to never give up the lead. He is really, really poised for a freshman." Karczewski went 5-8 from the three point line and ended with a team high of fifteen points in his 23 minutes of play.
Other top performances came from Cory Blau who put fourteen points on the board and Daniel Carlin who held it down in the paint with 12 points and seven rebounds. Both of these Warriors went a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line tonight.
The Warriors will play at home next Saturday February 14 against William Jessup at 7:30 pm, but tonight they get to enjoy a big win.
Victory is sweet. But victory on the road is just a little bit sweeter.
