By Ron Smith

Hayden Anderson and Jerry Karczewski each scored 14 points to help #12 Westmont Men's Basketball (4-0) defeated the Tigers of Occidental 82-69 on Thursday night in Los Angeles. Cory Blau and Sam Bentz added another 13 points while Sean Harman and Cory Blau contributed 12 points apiece.

The Warriors shot 61.2 percent from the floor (30 of 49), including 64.3 percent from three-point range (9 of 14). Perhaps more importantly, the Warriors held the Tigers to a 48.1 field goal percentage (26 of 54) and just 20.0 percent from beyond the arc (2 of 10).

"We did a really nice job defending their top scorers who combined 36 points in their last outing," noted head coach John Moore. "We held them to just 17 points. Jay Miller scored 24 in their first game and we held him to five."

After Miller started the scoring with a jumper, the Warriors scored the next 10 points to take a lead they would never relinquish. Blau scored first for the Warriors before Harmon laid the ball in the bucket off of a steal. A second-chance layup by McDonnell made it 6-2 before Moore pulled out all five starters and inserted a new line-up.

Twelve seconds later, Stefan Inouye passed the ball to Bentz whose jumper made the score 8-2. On Westmont's next possession, Britton Williams fed the ball to Noah Blanton who dunked it home. Williams then completed the run with a layup of his own.

Occidental whittled away at the Warrior lead and pulled to within four points (20-16) with eight and one-half minutes remaining before intermission.  However, a layup by Blau and a three-pointer by Karczewski kept the Tigers at bay and eventually led to a 37-28 halftime score.

"I thought we fouled too much in the first half and put them on the free throw line. They scored more than a third of their points in the first half at the free throw line."

The Tigers crept up on the Warriors again in the second half, pulling within six (56-50) on a three-pointer by Aaron Harmetz. However, Westmont responded with a 12-2 run over the next three-plus minutes that put the Warriors firmly in control.

Anderson accounted for the first eight points of the run. After making back-to-back layups, Anderson was fouled while making a three-point shot and converted the free throw. Layups by Blau and McDonnell completed the run.

Next up for the Warriors is a date with an old nemesis. Westmont will travel to Irvine to take on the Eagles of Concordia on Tuesday, November 22.

"Concordia is outstanding and there is a great rivalry between us and Concordia," said Moore. "I think they play a great brand of basketball. It will be great for us to be on the road against them and I am looking forward to seeing how we hold up."

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.