Two days after dropping just their second game of the season to William Jessup, Westmont Men's Basketball (16-2, 5-1 GSAC), righted the ship by posting a 96-73 Golden State Athletic Conference win over the Oaks of Menlo. As a team, the Warriors shot 65.3 percent from the field (32 of 49), including a remarkable 70.0 percent from 3-point range (14 of 20).

"Anytime we lose for the first time in a while, I'm always curious how we will respond as a team," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "I thought we responded especially well. I liked our energy, our liked our defense and I liked how the guys stayed connected to one another. We found shooters and we shot well. That's hard enough to do in an open gym - shoot 14 of 20 from the 3-point line - to do that when people are guarding you is impressive."

Junior guard Jerry Karczewski made six of seven attempts from beyond the arc on his way to a team-high 22 points. He also dished off three assists and pulled down three rebounds.

"All of our guys took Thursday night's loss hard," said Moore. "I think Jerry took it especially hard because the year before he had made the game winner at Jessup. He came out today, ready. The rifle was cocked and ready to be fired away and he shot it off and shot accurately."

Cory Blau tallied 19 points, four rebounds and four assists. Hayden Anderson added 13 points on five-of-five shooting from the field. He also added three assists and three rebounds. Sean McDonnell added 12 points (six of seven from the field), four rebounds and three assists.

"Cory Blau had a really good weekend," noted Moore. "He had 51 points over both games. It is so common for Cory to score at a high percentage, that it almost becomes expected. He was very, very good."

Westmont started the game with a 9-0 run with Blau starting off with a 3-point bucket, Anderson connecting on a layup and Sean Harman (9 points) hitting a free throw before capping off the game-opening run with a 3-pointer of his own.

The Warriors never gave up the lead and increased their first-half margin to as much as 19 when Karczewski nailed his fourth three-pointer of the game to make the score 38-19 with 6:08 remaining before intermission. At halftime, Westmont held a 52-36 advantage.

In the second half, Westmont maintained a double-digit lead throughout. With 4:52 to play, Anderson pushed the advantage to 20 points when he completed a traditional 3-point play after being fouled on a layup.

Westmont's largest margin (25 points) came with 53 second remaining in the game on a 3-point field goal by Maxwell Hudgins (9 points).

The Warriors' success was in large part attributable to good ball movement. Westmont tallied 21 assists on their 32 field goals while committing just six turnovers. The 42 points scored from three-point range helped open up the inside as well, allowing the Warriors to score 30 points in the paint.

"Menlo is a very good defensive team," said Moore. "They are physical, they play hard and they are well coached. For us to have that few turnovers and that many assists is a sign of good teamwork.

"We moved the ball well and we got the right people shots. As soon as Max and Stefan (3 points, 3 assists) stepped on the floor, they shot it confidently and they buried threes on first touches. That only happens if guys are making extra passes."

Westmont returns to Santa Barbara for a pair of home games next week. On Thursday, the Warriors will host #21 The Master's (13-3, 2-3). Saturday will bring the Hawks of San Diego Christian (5-9, 1-4) to Murchison for a match-up with the Warriors. Both games are scheduled for a 7:30 tip-off.