By Tim Heiduk
January 11, 2020
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) The #11 Westmont men's basketball team concluded its northern California road trip with another away victory, defeating William Jessup, 77-64, after beating Menlo on Thursday.
 
"Good road wins, both of them," Westmont head coach John Moore said. "It's nice to be able to get both long road trips out of the way, the Arizona trip and the Northern California trip. I'm looking forward to playing a few games at home."
 
Westmont, who improved to 17-1 overall and 6-0 in the GSAC, opened up conference play with five of its first six games on the road. The Warriors now return to Murchison Gymnasium for seven of their next eight games, beginning next Saturday against #2 The Master's, a team that lost to this very William Jessup squad on Thursday.
 
Moore credited his team's defense in helping the Warriors avoid a similar upset.
 
"I want to champion our defense today," Moore said. "William Jessup has two excellent guards in (Isaiah) Milan and (Luis) Medearis. Our goal was to try and hold them to fewer numbers than they average and we were able to do that.
 
"The shots they made were spectacular as they always seem to be, but I thought our defense was really locked in. I really liked the way we collectively played together."
 
Westmont limited William Jessup to 33.9% shooting (25.9% 3-point range) for the game, including 26.9% from the field and 16.7% from behind the arc in the first half, when the visitors only conceded 21 points.
 
Those 21 points are the second fewest amount Westmont has conceded in any half in the Warriors' past 61 games, behind only the 20 points they limited Antelope Valley to in the first half of their matchup earlier this season on Dec. 17.
 
Westmont never trailed in the game and surged out to a quick 9-2 lead. William Jessup reduced Westmont's advantage to 21-19, but the visiting Warriors went on a 14-2 run to end the first half and take a 35-21 lead into the locker room.
 
The home side came out firing in the second half though, hitting three 3-pointers to get within six, but Justin Bessard's 3-point play and Abram Carrasco's layup restored Westmont's double-digit lead.
 
William Jessup again worked its way back to within six points with 10:46 remaining, but that was as close as the home Warriors would get the rest of the way.
 
"We had a lot of composure on the offensive end when they cut it to six," Moore said. "We came back and made shot after shot to get it back to a double-digit lead. We finished the game with some good execution and important free throws."
 
Westmont extended its lead to as many as 16 points with 2:38 to play after four made free throws from Gyse Hulsebosch before winning by 13.
 
Four Westmont players scored in double figures, led once again by Carrasco, who led all scorers with 20 points. It was the reigning GSAC Player of the Week's third straight 20+ point game and fourth in his last five.
 
The other three Warriors were Hunter Sipe (13 points), Jared Brown (12 points), and Hulsebosch (11 points).
 
"Once they went to a zone, Hunter Sipe, who hadn't scored a point in the first half, had 13 in the second half, making big three after big three," Moore said. "He ran the floor hard and got a great pass from Bram Carrasco for a layup at a crucial time."
 
For the game, Westmont shot 52.6% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range. The visiting Warriors held a 38-24 advantage in points in the paint and outrebounded William Jessup 37 to 31.
 
"The other goal we had was to outrebound them and we were able to outrebound a very good rebounding team," Moore said. "I was encouraged by how hard we played. We had a lot of grit today."
 
Westmont is in sole possession of first place in the GSAC, two games ahead of second place The Master's (14-3 overall, 4-2 GSAC). The two teams meet in Murchison Gym on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.