Box Score
"It was a great college basketball game," said Warrior head coach
John Moore after #16 Westmont Men's Basketball (17-6, 6-4 GSAC0 loss to #8 Hope International (20-4, 8-2) by a score of 61-60 in Saturday night's Golden State Athletic Conference game at Murchison Gymnasium. "It just ended two points shy for the Warriors."
Each of the last three games played between these two teams have been decided by two points or less. In last year's NAIA National Championships semifinal match-up, Cory Blau hit a jumper with 10 seconds remaining to give Westmont a 70-69 win. In December, Hope International's Dominique Lanier scored on a jumper in the paint with six seconds remaining to give the Royals a 66-64. Tonight's game saw a potential buzzer beater bounce off the rim to preserve the narrow victory for Hope International.
"I really liked our defense in the second half," reflected Moore. "Any time you hold a team to 18 points in the second half after giving up 43 in the first half, you are doing something right. We fought the way you want your team to fight.
"Sean Harman did a lot of things defensively. Some of them show up in the box score and some of them don't. He was impressive. Cory rebounded well for us on the defensive boards. OlIsa played well in the first half and did some really nice things."
Contrasting halves characterized the game which saw a combined 88 points scored in the first frame and just 43 in the second.
Two and one-half minutes into the contest, the Royals took a 5-3 lead that they never lost. Hope International shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the first half (20 for 30) and outpaced the Warriors 43-35 at intermission. Liam Hunt tallied 21 points in the half to lead the Royal's scoring.
The second half, however, was all about defense.
The Royals made just seven of 28 field goal attempts (25.0 percent) and Hunt, who played all but two minutes of the second half, was held scoreless.
The Warriors cut the lead to one (58-59) when Sean Harman fed the ball to Sean McDonnell for a layup with just under two minutes to play. But Westmont would get no closer.
"We never could get that lead," expressed Moore, "which would have put a little more pressure on them. We were just one shot away."
Both teams remained scoreless until Ramon Mejia converted two free throws with 14 seconds remaining to give the Royals a 61-58 advantage. On the opposite end, Karczewski made a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to make it a 61-60 game.
On the subsequent inbound pass, Jordan Pellum was quickly fouled by Karczewski to put the Royal on the free throw line for a one-and-one opportunity with 5.5 seconds to go. Pellum missed the front in and Cory Blau brought the ball up the court.
Heavily guarded and unable to get free for a shot, Blau passed the ball to Karczewski who fired off a promising three-point shot. The ball, however, bounce off the rim as the horn sounded, leaving Warrior fans' hope's unfulfilled.
McDonnell led the Warriors with 12 points and added five rebounds. Karczewski added 10 points while Blau recorded nine points and a team high seven rebounds.
The Warriors, who are now tied with #22 Arizona Christian (18-5, 6-4) for fourth place in the GSAC standings, will travel to Phoenix on Tuesday to take on the Firestorm.
