By Zach DeMarcus
December 29, 2017
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) An aggressive Warrior offense proved important in head coach John Moore winning his 500th game at the helm of Westmont basketball. Westmont Men's Basketball (10-2) went on to defeat Alberta (Canada) (14-3) 83-74 in game two of the 42nd Annual Tom Byron Classic.
 
"I thought we came out with great energy. I thought our first half was as good a half as we've played all year long. I really liked their focus and their attention to detail. They got their legs under them, that's really hard to do with the amount of time that we've had off. I liked the way that we played in the first half and most of the second half," said Moore.
 
The two senior captains continued to lead the Warriors tonight. Jerry Karczewski finished with 24 points and five assists – he was 4-7 from beyond the arc. Sean Harman finished with 20 points and five rebounds – he was 8-12 from the field.
 
Moore said, " Jerry with 24 points and five assists, that's a pretty good game. Sean was very good tonight as well. They've led us all season long so it's expected tonight."
 
Westmont took a commanding 23-point lead into halftime. That was largely due to a Westmont 15-2 run over the final seven minutes of the first half. In that run, Karczewski and Harman combined for 12 of the 15 points.
 
Kyle Scalmanini manned the point guard position for a short stint in the first half. Moore said, " I thought Kyle was really special. He only played seven minutes in the first half. He attacked, made the right decisions, defended, and made his free throws. I thought he was very important the first half."
 
After a Harman layup and back-to-back three's from Karczewski, the score was 73-45 with 12 minutes remaining in the game. The 28-point lead was the Warriors largest of the night.
 
The score was 79-59 in favor of the Warriors with 5:39 remaining, when the Golden Bears went on a 15-4 run of their own. They came within nine points of the Warriors when the final buzzer rang – bringing the final score to 83-74.
 
Westmont was forced to take extended time off due to the Thomas Fire that has been raging through the hills of Ventura, Carpinteria, and Montecito the past two weeks. This was their first game since December 2. "Jeff Azain really set the tone before we came out. He said, 'I don't want to hear any excuses about how many days we've been off. Those things don't matter once the game starts. Prove how grateful you are by how hard you play' – they did," said Moore.
 
Moore, the winningest men's basketball coach in school history, now holds a record of 500-256 as the head coach of the Warriors. His overall coaching record is 578-330. It is no surprise for him to have achieved this coaching milestone at the Tom Byron Classic. In 1977, the tournament's inaugural year, the tournament most valuable player award went to none other than John Moore.
 
Moore added, " I love this place. It's a place where I came to faith and where I've grown to have friends for life – most of my best friends are Westmont people. A guy like Ron Mulder took a chance and took a big risk in hiring me, he was the athletic director at the time. I just said to Ron that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. David Winter was the one who called me at my home and said, 'we want to invite you to be our new head coach.' I got to follow in the footsteps of my mentor Chet Kammer.
 
"I'm thankful to have been able to work with Jeff Azain, Larry Knapp, and Rob Goodrow. A guy like Jeff who's stayed with me for all 25 years – talk about loyalty. He cares so deeply. He and I care together, it's a synergistic piece. We care and it evolves into greater caring for each of us. I'm really thankful to Jeff.
 
"I'm thankful to my family. Being a coach's family, you're gone a little bit. My daughters were both here and my wife Rachel has been so supportive over the years. My mom has come to many games, my sister is here again tonight and my niece as well. Westmont is a special place to me and it's special to all those around me that I just mentioned," finished Moore.
 
Westmont returns to action tomorrow in the second day of the Tom Byron Classic against Antelope Valley. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.