Box Score

By Ron Smith
January 19, 2017
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) It wasn't the night #5 Westmont Men's Basketball (16-3, 5-2 GSAC) had hoped for as the Warriors fell 89-68 to the Mustangs of The Master's University (15-3, 4-3) in a Golden State Athletic Conference match-up.
 
"Defensively, they completely outplayed us," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "We did not look like a team playing in its home gym in terms of shooting and in terms of attempts at the right shoots."
 
The Warriors shot just 42.1 percent from the floor (24 of 57) and made just 29.2 percent from beyond the arc (7 of 24). By contrast, the Mustangs converted 55.6 percent of their field goals (30 of 54), including 45.0 percent from downtown (9 of 20).
 
"The strange thing, as I look at the stats, is that we held down the guys we thought we needed to hold down," said Moore. "Travis Yenor (4 points) has been playing really well. Lawrence Russell (6 points) played quite well against us the first time. Reid Shackelford (11 points) is a guy we always focus on because he is such a fine 3-point shooter. Delewis Johnson (6 points) is the fourth guy we were focusing on. If you'd told me those four guys would only score 27 points, I'd have thought we would have won by 20."
 
If those four weren't providing the points, the Mustangs still found plenty of scoring. Hansel Atencia came off the bench to record 23 points and seven rebounds – both of which were game highs. Atencia went seven of 11 from the field including five of seven from 3-point range.
 
"Atencia looked like he was having a lot of fun out there," quipped Moore.
 
The Mustangs' Timothy Soares tallied 16 points for the Mustangs to go along with five rebounds. Evan Jenkins added 12 points and six boards.
 
Sam Bentz led the Warriors offensively with 14 points, making five of 11 from the field including four of eight from beyond the arc. Hayden Anderson contributed 12 points and five rebounds while Sean McDonnell added 10 points and four boards.
 
The Warriors held only one lead during the game. With 15:22 remaining in the second half, Sam Bentz nailed a 3-point shot to give the Warriors a 7-6 lead. The Master's responded with a 3-pointer from Evan Jenkins (12 points, 6 rebounds) before McDonnell sank two free throws to tie the game at nine points apiece with 14:22 remaining in the first frame.
 
The Mustangs went on a 12-3 run to take and maintain the lead until a layup by McDonnell tied the game at 28-all with 3:32 left before intermission. A jumper by the Mustangs' Keegan Scoot (4 points) was answered with two free throws from Sean Harman, tying the game at 30 with 2:12 showing on the clock.
 
An 'and-one' play by Jenkins and a layup by Kaleb Anderson put The Master's up 35-30. A free throw by Cory Blau made the score 35-31 at the intermission.
 
Westmont started the second half strong, tying the game at 36 with 18:42 remaining. However, The Master's produced a 14-0 run over the next six minutes to take a 50-36 lead. Three minutes later, the Mustangs' margin reached 22 points on a 3-pointer by Atencia and The Master's never looked back.
 
The Warriors will look to regroup on Saturday night when they take on the Hawks of San Diego Christian in Murchison Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 following the women's game between the same two schools.