By Ron Smith
January 20, 2018
 
(SANTA CLARITA) Olisa Nwachie poured in 26 points and pulled down eight rebounds as #20 Westmont Men's Basketball (14-4, 4-1 GSAC) came up just a bit short (74-71), falling to #4 The Master's (19-1, 5-0) in a first place showdown in the Golden State Athletic Conference.
 
"I am very proud of our guys," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "That is the fourth ranked team in the nation and we are right there next to them. I am pleased with how we played, especially in the second half.
 
"I was proud of the way Olisa Nwachie played tonight. He played like a man who wanted to prove he was one of the best players on the floor."
 
Nwachie made nine of 18 attempts from the floor and connected on eight of nine attempts from the charity stripe. He also recorded three blocks.
 
The Warriors trailed 43-30 at halftime but held the Mustangs to a 25.9 field goal percentage in the second half including 11.1 percent from 3-point range.
 
"We changed up our defense and played more zone and a combination of zone and man," said Moore. "I thought (assistant coach) Jeff Azain did an outstanding job of changing up our defense for us. We wanted to hold them to under 40 percent field goal percentage, which we certainly did."
 
For the game, Westmont shot 38.5 percent from the field and The Master's shot 38.2 percent. The Warriors outrebounded the Mustangs 39-38 and pulled down 15 offensive boards.
 
"The Master's outrebounds their opponents by 13 or 14 rebounds per game," explained Moore, "so to outrebound them by one and come up with 15 offensive rebounds was a big part of the game."
 
Trailing by eight points with three minutes remaining in the game, the Warriors held The Master's scoreless for the next minute and one half. During that span, Zach Jervis and Jerry Karczewski sank two free throws each to pull the Warriors to within four points (67-63).
 
With 1:28 to play, Russell Lawrence made a free throw to make the score 68-63. On the Warriors next possession, Jervis collected a rebound and scored on a put-back to make the score 68-65. With 40 seconds remaining, Sean Harman drained two free throws to make it a one-point game at 68-67.
 
Down the stretch, The Master's made six of six free throw attempts to keep the Warriors at bay.
 
Karczewski and Jervis each recorded 14 points. Karczewski notched three assists and two steals while Jervis added five rebounds and three assists.
 
In other GSAC action, #7 Hope International (19-1, 5-0) defeated Arizona Christian (13-6, 1-4) by a score of 92-67. William Jessup (15-6, 1-4) overcame Menlo (13-7, 5-0) by an 85-82 mark. San Diego Christian (4-10, 1-4) defeated Vanguard (13-7, 3-2) by a score of 65-60.
 
As a result, Hope International and The Master's are in first place in the conference standings with Westmont one game back in third place.
 
The Warriors will return to action next week for two home games. On Thursday, Westmont will welcome Hope International to Murchison Gymnasium. On Saturday, the Warriors will face off with the Lions of Vanguard. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.