By Zach DeMarcus
February 22, 2018
 
(COSTA MESA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (22-5, 11-2 GSAC) escaped the Lion's den at Vanguard (17-12, 6-7 GSAC) with an 80-76 overtime victory. Kyle Scalmanini continued his late-game heroics with seven points in overtime to help seal the victory for the Warriors.
 
Westmont head coach John Moore said, "In the first half, we weren't very good. We had one assist and 13 turnovers – that's not Warrior basketball; credit to Vanguard for their intensity and desire to win."
 
Olisa Nwachie finished with a game-high 25 points. He was 17-20 from the free throw line – his 17 made free throws is tied for second-best in a single game in school history. Nwachie also grabbed eight rebounds on the evening. Moore said, "For him to go 17-20 and make the last two that we needed the most is a great sign of his time in the gym and his willingness to step in to situations that are hard to be in late in the game – he was really clutch tonight."
 
In the first half, Westmont struggled to protect the basketball. They committed 13 turnovers to only one assist in the opening half. The Warriors were 10-20 (50%) from the field to Vanguard's 14-37 (37.8%). Westmont was able to stay in the game at the free throw line. They were 14-18 from the line in the first half to go against the Lions' 5-7.
 
Vanguard's Dante Williams was off to a hot start in the first half with 12 points – he would finish with 24 points to go along with six rebounds. The Lions would lead by as many as eight points in the first half. With the score 28-34 and 1:19 remaining, Nwachie would cut that deficit to two with four made free throws before the halftime buzzer – eventually bringing the score to 34-36 at halftime.
 
The Warriors tied the game and took the lead at the start of the second half on a made layup by Scalmanini and two more made free throws from Nwachie. Both teams struggled to put points on the board throughout the first seven minutes of the second half.
 
With the score tied at 41 and 13:42 remaining, Nwachie and Scalmanini converted back-to-back layups to give Westmont a four-point advantage – their largest lead of the night. Vanguard quickly extinguished that and would go on an 18-4 run over the next five and a half minutes.
 
Vanguard's Connor Griffin hit a three and a jumper, Connor Kennedy laid the ball in for two, and Hood connected from beyond the arc. Karczewski responded with a 3-pointer for Westmont. Vanguard's Capri Uzan hit a three that was followed by a made jumper by Hood. Donte Williams hit a free throw and Nwachie hit a free throw to bring the score to 49-59 in favor of the Lions with 7:09 remaining in the game.
 
Westmont remained down by 10 points with 3:30 left and the score at 56-66. The Warriors went on to score 10-unanswered points to finish out the half. Zac Jervis finished a layup, Sean Harman hit a free throw, Nwachie laid the ball in, Harman drained a 3-pointer, and Jervis hit a layup to knot the game at 66-66.
 
Moore said, "I think Jeff Azain is the best in the country at calling out defenses – he did it again. He had us press and we got some steals and we made them hurry up. We took Vanguard out of their flow."
 
In overtime, Scalmanini took over. He scored seven of the Warriors' 14 overtime points. Harman hit a three to start the extra time. Vanguard converted a layup. Nwachie hit two free throws, and the Lions scored on an and-one layup to tie the game at 71. The Lions then hit one free throw to take the lead.
 
Scalmanini responded with a layup, a huge 3-pointer, and two free throws. Vanguard converted a layup and two free throws to bring the score to 78-76 in favor of the Warriors with 17 seconds left. Vanguard fouled Karczewski to send him to the line. He would miss both free throws.
 
Williams was awarded the potential game-tying two free throws after being fouled by Scalmaini with 13 seconds left. Williams would miss both chances. Nwachie pulled down the rebound off the missed free throw and was fouled. He hit his 16^th and 17^th free throws of the evening to ice the game at its finals score of 80-76.
 
"Kyle is a guy who loves big moments in the game. We have so much confidence in him.
 
"I think this team is a very clutch team. The bigger the moment the more free throws they make and the more they are capable of making big shots. Sean Harman hit some very big shots when we needed them. I think our defense was especially clutch in the late game situation," added Moore.
 
Westmont remains in second place in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings. Hope International defeated top-ranked The Master's 63-62 this evening – opening the door for a potential shared GSAC title for the Warriors. Westmont would have to beat Hope International and The Master's would have to lose to Vanguard this Saturday for the GSAC crown to be shared.  
 
Tip-off for Westmont's game against third-place Hope International Saturday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.