Box Score
Westmont Men's Basketball (14-4, 3-2 GSAC), ranked at number 15 in the NAIA, rallied from an eight-point, second half deficit on Thursday night to defeat the visiting Oaks of Menlo (7-13, 1-6) by a score of 75-65 in a Golden State Athletic Conference match-up.
"I thought they outplayed us for a good part of the game," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "With that said, I really liked the way we finished the game. We executed well late.
"We can't afford to play as though one team is more important than the next," continued the coach. "I thought we played as if we didn't have to mentally prepare for this team. It is a complacency that comes after a win of substance like we had Thursday. Even when we came out to warm up, I thought Menlo was business like and we were a little too casual."
Sean McDonnell led the Warriors in both scoring and rebounding, recording a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds. The junior forward also produced five steals. Cory Blau added 16 points and three assists while Sean Harman and Jerry Karczewski each contributed nine points.
"Sean shot free throws well," said Moore. "He was 11 for 13 tonight. I liked his activity on the offensive end. Cory hit some big shots. He missed some free throws, which I'm not accustomed to, but he hit the big shot at the elbow at a key time to put us up by seven."
The Warriors struggle offensively, shooting just 38.2 percent from the field. Long-range shots fell for the Warriors who made 10 of 21 attempts from beyond the arc (44.4 percent). However, shots from two-point range, including layups, proved troublesome for the Westmont players who made just 11 of 34 attempts (32.4 percent).
With the score tied at 21 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, Karczewski drained a three-point shot and McDonnell tipped in a missed layup to give the Warriors a 26-21 advantage. With 1:26 remaining before the intermission buzzer, Blau struck from beyond the arc to put the Warriors up 35-27. Menlo cut the Warrior lead to five with a series of three free throws before Karczewksi struck again just before the clock expired to give the Warriors a 38-30 halftime lead.
The start of the second half did not go well for the Warriors. Menlo produced a 9-2 run to pull within one (40-39). Karczewski buried his third three-pointer of the night to give Westmont a 43-39 advantage, but the Oaks Brad Swain sank two free throws and Kalan Camero drained a three to give Menlo its first lead (44-43) in more than 16 minutes.
Over the next six minutes, the Oaks would outscore the Warriors 18-11 to take a 62-54 lead with 6:51 to go.
It could have been worse were it not for Westmont's Kyle Gordon who came into the game and knocked down to big threes during that span – one of which became a four-point play after a successful free throw.
"Of all the guys I complemented in the locker room, Kyle Gordon was the most," said Moore. "He played especially well. He had the four-point play and hit another big three at crucial times. When we were struggling and barely hanging on, he came in and gave us the offense that we needed."
Down by eight, the Warriors responded with a 21-3 run to end the game. Twelve of the Warriors' points came at the free throw line. Anderson accounted for five of the points with a three-pointer and a layup. McDonnell added another layup and Blau hit the aforementioned jumper at the elbow to account for the rest of the scoring during the final push.
The Warriors will next match-up against William Jessup (13-5, 5-2) on Saturday night in Murchison Gymnasium. William Jessup, which upset #10 Biola (19-2, 6-1) last week, put the hurt of The Master's (4-11, 1-6) in the only other GSAC game on Thursday night. Jessup pounded the Mustangs 94-63. Tip-off on Saturday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
