By Zach DeMarcus
January 11, 2018
 
(EL CAJON, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (13-3, 3-0 GSAC) used a 31 point second half margin to defeat the Hawks of San Diego Christian (3-8, 0-2) by a score of 74-48. Senior David Gunn led the Warriors with his 24 points.
 
Westmont head coach John Moore said, "David was fantastic tonight. Point a minute guy (24 points in 24 minutes) – we've been looking forward to that from him."
 
The Warriors were off to a slow start in the first half – shooting just 7-23 (30.4%) from the field, well below their season average of 49 percent. The Hawks lead by as much as seven in the first half, and eventually went to the locker room up by five at halftime.
 
Moore said, "The guys were really poised at halftime. I think it was really about the players coming into the second half playing with much greater intensity – especially on the defensive end."
 
The Warriors were quick to turn things around in the second half. Zac Jervis converted on a layup and Gunn dunked the ball for two quick scores to bring the Warriors within one only 55 seconds into the second half. They would take the lead after a 3-pointer by Jerry Karczewski with just under 18 minutes left in the game –  they wouldn't look back.
 
With the score 32-31 in favor of Westmont and 16:50 remaining in the game, the Warriors began a huge run. Over the next six minutes, Westmont would go on to score 20 points to San Diego Christian's zero. Moore said, "I think momentum is something that comes more from the defensive side than it does from the offensive side. That was a string in which we were playing flawless defensively."
 
San Diego Christian's Derek Novsek came into the game as the ninth-leading scorer in the country with his 22.5 points per game. Westmont was able to hold him to 10 points. "Sean Harman was great defensively and our guys stayed really connected to one another on Novsek," said Moore.
 
Jervis led the Warriors with four blocks, Olisa Nwachie and Gunn both had two, and Noah Blanton contributed one bringing the total to nine. This tied a game record for Westmont – previously done on February 14, 2015 against William Jessup.
 
The Warriors outscored the Hawks 51-20 in the second half and finished the game up by 26 points – their largest lead of the night. The final score was 74-48 in favor of the Warriors.
 
This has proved to be a difficult stretch for the Warriors off the court, they had 23 days off from practice in December due to the Thomas Fire and are now dealing with the aftermath of the horrendous flash floods that ravaged Montecito. Moore said, "Our community has been through a lot. Our guys have really responded well to all that they've been through. They've been really classy. They've shown good leadership. They've responded in all the ways that a coach wants a person to respond – with good perspective.
 
"Also in the form of understanding that this is a game that they love and if you are going to play it, to play it like you love it. They certainly did that. Our heart goes out to so many people that we know in the community who have lost family members. It's a time of sadness. There's no way of making it anything other than that," added Moore
 
Westmont will continue on the road to face Arizona Christian Saturday afternoon.