By Tim Heiduk
November 22, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) With a 103-56 win over Maine Fort Kent on Friday night, the Westmont men's basketball team improved to 7-0 on the season, its best start to a campaign since 1983-84, when the Warriors began the season 18-0.
 
That 1983-84 team, which featured current assistant coach Jeff Azain and head coach John Moore's brother Michael, finished with a 31-4 record and reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament.
 
"It's surprising in a good way, obviously. This team has exceeded my expectations thus far," said Westmont head coach John Moore. "We just play together. These guys are all-in. I know that sounds like a cliché but we really are all leaning in towards one another. There's not a lot of ego. There's humility when somebody else does well and you don't. You celebrate with that other player. That's happening across the board.
 
"It's more about how complementary we are of one another. All of these new guys we have in our program really know how to play the game of basketball. They were really good high school players. Some were outstanding community college players … I think that's part of the reason we're having success is these guys who are on our team right now know nothing but success."
 
Westmont reached triple digits in scoring for the fourth time this season after doing so four times all of last year, shooting 57.7% from the field for the game.
 
The Warriors held their opponents to 56 points, the fewest points the team has given up in a game since January 11, 2018 against San Diego Christian. Westmont forced 20 Maine Fort Kent turnovers and held the Bengals to 17.6% shooting from behind the arc, including zero for six in the second half.
 
"I thought we were joined together defensively," said Moore. "There were a couple possessions I wasn't very pleased with, but the majority of the possessions I thought we really communicated well. We took away their best players and tried to make sure that they weren't going to hurt us too badly. Then we rebounded the ball, especially in the second half. We created 20 turnovers. When you create 20 turnovers, there's going to be some easy shots."
 
Hunter Sipe continued his hot-scoring form with his second consecutive 20-point game to lead the Warriors. The junior transfer shot eight for 13 from the field, including four for six from 3-point range.
 
"Hunter was crazy good. In practice I don't think he misses very often and the two threes he missed tonight were a surprise to all of us," said Moore. "Hunter had 17 points at halftime and only made one shot in the second half, but he was very good. Defensively he's such a hound."
 
Sipe scored seven of the first eight Warrior points to give Westmont an early 8-5 lead. With the score 11-8 in favor of Westmont, the Warriors went on a 21-0 run behind a 3-point shooting barrage, to go ahead 32-8.
 
Westmont made 11 triples on 17 attempts (64.7%) in the first half, including three each from Sipe and Abram Carrasco, and another two from Jared Brown and Gyse Hulsebosch.
 
"When you shoot 65.7% from the field and you almost exceed that from the 3-point line at 64.7%, that's really good shooting," said Moore of his team's first half shooting performance.
 
The Warriors held the Bengals scoreless for almost six minutes, from 15:13 on the clock to 9:32, when Westmont scored 21 consecutive points. Maine Fort Kent scored five points in the first minute, but Westmont's defense limited the Bengals to just three points over the next nine and a half minutes and just eight points in the first 10 minutes total. The Warriors forced 13 Bengal turnovers in the first half.
 
Westmont took a 60-26 lead into halftime. The Warriors' 60 first-half points were the most the team has scored in a half this season.
 
Fittingly, Carrasco hit a 3-pointer to get the Warriors on the board in the second half. Sipe hit the team's 14th 3-pointer of the game with 14:14 left in the second half, leaving the team just three triples shy of tying the single-game program record of 17. The Warriors fell shy of the record after missing their final nine 3-point attempts, but still finished the night shooting 45.2% from deep.
 
Despite cooling down from behind the arc in the second half, Moore was pleased with his team's rebounding in the second half. Westmont outrebounded Maine Fort Kent 23-15 in the second period after the Warriors only mustered a 14-12 advantage in the first half.
 
Westmont's lead got up to as many as 49 points at 101-52, before the Warriors won the game by 47. It's the team's largest margin of victory since December 28 of last year against Cal Miramar.
 
After Sipe's 20 points, Carrasco was the next top scorer with 18 points on seven for 13 shooting, including four for nine from 3-point range. Brown scored 15 points, shooting six of 11 from the field and three for six from behind the arc.
 
"Bram (Carrasco) shot it very well," said Moore. "Jared Brown's always going to shoot it well. He's always so consistent."
 
Noah Fernando tallied 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
 
"Noah is just an instant energy guy," said Moore. "Especially with us not having Tristan Lloyd (injury) tonight, we needed somebody to come off the bench and do what Tristan typically does, which is bring great energy. Noah provided that."
 
Cade Roth led the team in rebounding with eight boards, while dishing out four assists and scoring five points.
 
"I'm always excited when I see Cade go up and rebound a ball because he's such a fine rebounder," said Moore. "His stats pointwise are down a little bit, but his rebounds and assists are up. He's playing much better defense. I really liked the way Cade played tonight even though he only scored five and only got three shots off."
 
All 10 healthy Warriors who played scored at least four points.
 
Westmont's unbeaten start will be put to the test on Monday night against defending National Runner-Up Carroll (Mont.). The teams will square off in a neutral-site game in Fullerton on the campus of Hope International at 7:00 p.m.
 
The Warriors are 2-1 all-time against Carroll, but haven't played the Fighting Saints since 2009.
 
"They are 5-0 and play Hope International, a team in our league, at Hope's place tomorrow," said Moore. "I've seen them on tape already and Carroll is the real deal."