Box Score
Disappointment was the prevailing mood in Murchison Gymnasium on Saturday night as #16 Westmont (17-8, 6-6 GSAC) suffered a 69-50 Golden State Athletic Conference loss to #9 Biola (24-3, 11-2).
"Biola played really well, and we played really poorly," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "I don't think I've ever had a game where we have gone down that margin at home. Biola is a great defensive team. I thought we had some good looks; we just couldn't put the ball in. Once you start looking at the scoreboard and see zero up there, you start losing a little bit of confidence.
The Warriors struggled from the outset missing their first 11 shots and going down 16-0 in the first 10 minutes of play. By halftime, Westmont trailed 35-14.
"This is the best Biola team we've played against in years," said Moore. "We have done well against them the last number of years. [Biola head coach] Dave [Holmquist] has created a team that plays well together and plays hard. Tonight we were two steps back most of the game. They won most of the loose balls in the first half, epitomized by a five rebound possession that indicated which team was certainly more assertive tonight.
The second half saw the Warriors rally. After shooting 25 percent in the first half (six of 24), the Warriors made 14 of 30 in the second half to improve to 46.7 percent.
"In the second half, when we cut it to eleven, we played a little bit better for that eight minute spurt," said Moore. "We were a little more fluid offensively; we were better defensively and created some turnovers. I thought we rebounded better on the offensive end in the second half."
Biola responded, however, by outscoring the Warriors 21-13 in the final ten and one-half minutes.
"This is a team loss for players and coaches," offered Moore. "I told the players we aren't going to spend a lot more time talking about this. We've had a few games of late where we gone down by large margins. It's hard to play catch-up. We have a lot of fight to us, but let's have a lot of fight in the first half."
The Warriors will look to right the ship during two home games this week. On Thursday, the Warriors will host The Master's (4-17, 1-12) at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Westmont will host San Diego Christian at 5:30 p.m. in the final home game of the year.
