By Zach DeMarcus
February 7, 2019
 
(SAN DIMAS, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (14-7, 8-5 GSAC) returned to their winning ways by taking down Life Pacific (8-14, 2-11 GSAC) in tonight's Golden State Athletic Conference matchup by a score of 87-70. Olisa Nwachie led all scorers with 28 points – shooting a perfect nine of nine from the field.
 
Westmont head coach John Moore said, "Olisa had a really nice night and Kyle Scalmanini had a really special second half. Max Hudgins was good all game long – Mr. consistency. I thought Desean Scott played a really nice game – he was as important as anyone tonight."
 
Westmont went out to a quick 7-0 lead before Life responded with an 11-2 run to take the lead by two five and a half minutes into the game. Westmont was up by five with two and a half minutes to go in the first half, but was unable to close out the half as Life Pacific would take the lead by one at 43-42 going into halftime.
 
Life converted nine of 18 attempts from beyond the 3-point line in the opening half as Westmont was four of eight from beyond the arc. Moore said, "It felt like they were going to shoot us out of the gym. They were really comfortable in the first half."
 
Life went on a quick 7-1 run to open the second half to take their game-high lead of seven with 18 minutes to play. Free throws looked to be part of the difference for Westmont. They would head to the charity strike 26 times on the evening – converting on 18. Nwachie was 10 of 15 from line.
 
Moore noted, "Our numbers at the free throw line were pretty good. To be able to get that many free throws on the road means we were really aggressive getting to the rim. Olisa shot more than half of our free throws."
 
Westmont took the lead for good on a made free throw by Nwachie with 10:36 remaining in the game to bring the score to 59-58. Hudgins was good throughout as he finished with 22 points and was six of eight from beyond the arc. Scalmanini finished with 13 points and two steals. Scott was four of six from the floor and added 12 points to go with two assists and four boards.
 
Westmont outrebounded Life 40-23 including grabbing 19 offensive boards to Life's nine. "We outrebounded them by a significant margin and I think that really helped us coral the win," commented Coach.
 
Westmont stayed consistent from the field as they finished shooting 56.6 percent (30 of 53) from the floor, bettering Life's 49 percent (25 of 51). "We continued to shoot the ball pretty well," noted Moore.
 
Of his team's second half adjustments, Moore said, "We played much better defense. We changed up defenses in the second half and we did a much better job matching up with their shooters."
 
Westmont would go on to win by a final score of 87-70.
 
The Warriors of Santa Barbara will return home this Saturday to face first-place #4 Vanguard. "Vanguard is really playing well. They are outstanding. We played a tough game against them down there. I think our guys are excited to play them again. It'll be a great challenge, but we're looking forward to it," finished Moore
 
Tipoff for Saturday's game is set for 7:30 p.m.