By Tim Heiduk
January 4, 2020
 
(SAN DIMAS, Calif.) After suffering its first loss of what has been a historic season thus far, the #11 Westmont men's basketball team (15-1 overall, 4-0 GSAC) returned to winning ways with an 87-70 road victory over Life Pacific (5-9 overall, 1-3 GSAC) on Saturday night.
 
As the team bounced back from Thursday night's loss against NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara, so did Jared Brown, whom Westmont head coach John Moore highlighted in the win.
 
"For me, the main thing is what happens when a guy struggles and how do they bounce back," Moore said. "Jared Brown was a really fine example of that tonight. He would say this, that he didn't have his best game against UCSB, but he was tremendous tonight defensively, offensively, and in every piece of his game. He was very good."
 
Moore credited Brown and the rest of his team's defense for holding the GSAC's top 3-point shooter in terms of threes made per game, Colin Cunniff, without a single made triple.
 
Westmont's defense was instrumental in preserving the team's 18-point halftime lead, which was made possible by two separate 11-0 runs in the first half.
 
Facing its only deficit of the game, 2-3, Westmont went on its first 11-point streak, sparked by Abram Carrasco's steal and finish at the other end. With the score 17-10, Westmont went on yet another 11-0 run to extend its advantage to 28-10.
 
Life Pacific reduced Westmont's lead to 36-27, but a Carrasco floater and a Hunter Sipe bank shot quickly restored the visitors' double-digit advantage.
 
Westmont worked its lead back up to 18, taking a 51-33 advantage into halftime.
 
The visiting Warriors extended that lead to a game-high 24 points, 60-36, with 16:22 remaining in the second half, but their offense began to slow down, helping Life Pacific fight back to as close as 11.
 
After shooting 52.8% from the field and 45% from behind the arc in the first half, those numbers dropped in the second half to 39.4% and 20% respectively, as Westmont scored 15 fewer points than it did in the opening period.
 
But when the offense struggled, that's when the defense kicked into high gear, holding the home side to 40% shooting (23.5% 3-pt.) in the second half. Westmont was outscored by Life Pacific in the second period, but only by a single point, as the visitors never came close to relinquishing their sizable halftime lead.
 
Carrasco, who recorded his most rebounds in a Warrior uniform with eight, led Westmont with 20 points. Sipe (17 points), Brown (16 points), and Gyse Hulsebosch (12 points) also reached double figures.
 
Sipe recorded the first double-double of his Westmont career with his 10 rebounds and Hulsebosch hit four of the team's 12 3-pointers on the night. Cade Roth led the team with 11 rebounds, while Carrasco directed the offense with six assists.
 
Westmont, who improved to 4-0 all-time against Life Pacific, hits the road again next week for two games in northern California, beginning on Thursday in Atherton against Menlo at 7:30 p.m. The team then travels up to Rocklin to take on William Jessup on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.