By Tim Heiduk
October 28, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) The Westmont men's basketball team overcame an early deficit and held off a furious second half rally by Bethesda (Calif.) to eventually beat the Flames, 88-78, and improve to 2-0 on the young season.
 
"I don't think we played particularly well tonight, but we played the game we needed to play and we had to learn how to persevere a little bit," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "It was really good for us."
 
After leading from start to finish in its season opener a week ago, the Westmont men's basketball team faced an early 13-4 deficit against Bethesda on Monday night. The Warriors committed four turnovers in the first five minutes after only turning the ball over eight times in total during their season opener, but they responded immediately with a 13-0 run to take a 17-13 lead.
 
"I think any time you play well the very first game with a brand new team that doesn't know each other very well, most teams have the tendency to get a little full of themselves and a little complacent," said Moore. "I'm not sure we did that, but I like that we fought back and took a 12-point lead at halftime. I was happy to see that our lead went all the way down to one point and we had to hit big shots."
 
Abram Carrasco started the 13-0 run with a driving layup before Hunter Sipe hit a corner 3-pointer for Westmont, who began the game 0-4 from beyond the arc. After two Jared Brown free throws, Noah Fernando's jumper tied the game up for the Warriors. Brown then finished inside with a lay-in before he shimmied past one defender and fed Tristan Lloyd for a dunk, exciting the home crowd and prompting a Bethesda timeout.
 
Westmont stretched that lead to as many as 14 in the first half, as the Warriors took a 44-32 advantage into halftime despite only shooting 4-15 from 3-point range.
 
Sipe led all players at the break with 14 points and two steals, while Lloyd brought down 10 of his game-high 11 rebounds in just nine minutes of play in the first half.
 
"Tristan set the tone," said Moore. "We outrebounded them as a team, 53-29, but Tristan was the one who set the tone in the first half. He ran the floor hard and brought great energy off the bench."
 
Moore also credited the play of Fernando. "When Noah went in the game and I think he and Tristan went in at the same time, we went from two down to 12 up in the first half," said Moore. "That just shows how valuable those two guys are."
 
The Warriors' 12-point halftime lead was extended to as many as 15 with 14:55 remaining, but the visiting Flames fought back to within single digits. Down 57-68, Bethesda went on an 11-1 run to reduce Westmont's lead to a single point, 69-68, with 6:25 left to play.
 
"I thought this was a really good game for us because they cut it to one," said Moore. "When you have a game cut to one, you find out which guys are the most poised. Jared (Brown) was poised, Hunter (Sipe) was poised. Noah Fernando was very poised. We made important free throws at key times."
 
Sipe stopped the bleeding with an offensive rebound and put back. Fernando later collected an offensive rebound of his own before finishing at the rim. The Warriors held a 20-5 advantage in offensive rebounds, which translated to a 23-8 margin in second-chance points.
 
"It was huge in a close game," said Moore. "We needed those in this game. Noah's was a very big one and Hunter got a couple in there that kept the possession alive for us."
 
The teams traded baskets before Brown sank a deep 3-pointer to give the Warriors a little breathing room and a seven-point lead, 81-74, with 2:44 remaining.
 
That lead quickly went up to 12 before the Warriors held on to win by 10.
 
Sipe led all scorers with 27 points, while also pulling down nine rebounds and collecting four steals.
 
"Hunter Sipe was really special tonight," said Moore. "I just said to our guys, that we just couldn't afford to take Hunter Sipe out of the game."
 
All five of Westmont's starters scored in double figures, as did Fernando off the bench. Justin Bessard scored 14 points, while Carrasco, Brown, Cade Roth, and Fernando all added 10 points apiece.
 
"Any time you can have all five starters score in double figures, that's sharing the ball," said Moore. "Even though we did have 19 turnovers, we had 20 assists, so I thought that was pleasant."
 
Roth recorded a double-double with his 10 points and 10 rebounds, setting a career high in boards for the second consecutive game.
 
The team returns to action on November 6 with a home game against Yellowstone Christian (Mont.).