By Zach DeMarcus
February 12, 2018
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Jerry Karczewski took over Westmont's career 3-point record tonight as Westmont Men's Basketball (21-4) defeated the Flames of Bethesda (7-17) by a score of 102-78. Noah Blanton added a double-double in the win.
 
Westmont head coach John Moore said, "I thought our starters looked really good out of the shoot."
 
David Gunn scored 10 of Westmont's first 17 points. He would finish with 19 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Moore said, " When I watch David play, I admire his athleticism, his ability to score, and his ability to make our team so much better. He had 10 of our first 17 points. I think that's just an indicator of how good David can be."
 
The Warriors went up by as many as 14 points in the first half and would finish the first half up 48-40.
 
Westmont sent all 13 players to the floor in both halves. " I thought our bench in the first half struggled a little bit – they were better in the second half. I like the way Matt Ramon competes. He got eight rebounds for us. I like the energy that he brings to the flour – we need guys like him to play with that kind of energy.
 
"Ben Okhotin is a point-a-minute guy – he had 11 points in 18 minutes. He shot well from the 3-point line. I like the way certain players played – especially in the second half," added Moore.
 
Blanton added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Moore said, " Noah Blanton was especially good in the second half with his rebounding and his attention to detail. I challenged him at halftime to see if he could get five offensive rebounds in the second half and he ended up getting four. Noah's a real coachable player and I think he did the kinds of things that make us better."
 
Westmont outscored Bethesda 54-38 in the second half – bringing the final score to 102-78. The Warriors shot 51.2 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from behind the arc on the game.
 
With 14:20 remaining in the first half, Karczewski, in his 126th career game, nailed his 279th 3-pointer as a Westmont Warrior – passing Corey Blick for most all-time. He would add two more 3-pointers to finish with nine points on the night.
 
Moore said, "Corey Blick is a good friend now and he's also one of my all-time favorite players. He was so confident as a freshman, Jerry and he are very much alike in that regard. Every shot that Jerry shoots from the 3-point line looks like it's going in. Jerry's father was a very good player and has instilled confidence and competitiveness in him.
 
"Jerry is our only all-conference player returning. I think he's learned how to compete at the highest level. He and Sean and the other two seniors, David and Noah are the reason that we are as good as we are this year.
 
"He's a lefty, I'm a lefty, I love lefties. There's nothing not to like about him being a lefty. He's a clutch player and makes big shots. He made a big shot at the national tournament his freshman year that helped us get deeper in the tournament. I like his competitive fight and his competitive spirit," finished Moore.
 
The Warriors look to spend the rest of the week preparing for their showdown with #2 The Master's on Saturday evening. Moore added, "We've got a lot of work to do – both mentally and physically. The Master's is a very confident team – extremely well coached. We have our work cut out for us. I like this group's mentality and the hunger that they seem to have for that particular game – they can't wait."
 
The Master's comes into the game in first place with an 11-0 record in Golden State Athletic Conference play and the Warriors are coming in as the second place team with a 10-1 GSAC record. Saturday is also senior night for the five seniors – tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.