By Ron Smith
February 8, 2020
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (23-2, 12-1 GSAC) proved its versatility today in an 87-73 Golden State Athletic Conference win over the Oaks of Menlo. The fourth-ranked Warriors had to play much of the game without the services of two starters.
 
Abram Carrasco struggled with foul trouble throughout the contest and was limited to 19 minutes of play. Cade Roth had to come out of the game with an injury less than eight minutes into the contest.
 
"I can't say enough about our bench," enthused head coach John Moore. "When Cade and Bram went down in the first half, guys like Noah Fernando and Gyse Hulsebosch, Tyler Austin and Tristan Lloyd gave us very good minutes.
 
"Jared Brown and Gyse had to play significantly more minutes. They had 18 and 14 points (respectively), making up for Bram's scoring average."
 
Brown also contributed four rebounds and four assists to the Warriors' cause.
 
The Oaks got off to a strong start, outscoring the Warriors 16-7 in the first six and one-half minutes.
 
"From that point on, I thought we our team played stellar defense, led by our guards," said Moore. "Jared and Gyse led the defensive attack."
 
While the defense was talking hold, the offense was heating up. Westmont went on a 28-8 run to go ahead by 11 points (35-24) with 2:52 remaining in the opening frame. Brown tallied 12 points during that stretch, going five of six from the field.
 
Menlo responded in the final two and one-half minutes of the first half with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to just three (37-34) at the intermission.
 
Hunter Sipe hit a three to start the second-half scoring as the Warriors built a 16-point cushion in the first seven and one-half minutes to go up 61-45.
 
Over the next three and one-half minutes, Menlo went on a 10-0 run to pull within six (61-55). However, the Warriors scored the next eight points (four by Carrasco and four by Justin Bessard) to give Westmont a 69-55 advantage. From that point on, the Warrior lead never fell below seven.
 
"In the first half, Menlo was shooting at a high level," noted More. "John Paine is one of the finest players in this conference. He had 11 points in the first half, but Hunter Sipe (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) and the rest of the team were able to hold him scoreless in the second."
 
Menlo made five of nine from long distance in the first half (55.6%), but just two of 10 in the second.
 
By contrast, the Warriors made 68.2% of their shots from the floor in the second half, including 70% from beyond the arc.
 
"You'll have a hard time not winning games when you shoot seven of 10 from the three-point line," quipped Moore.
 
Bessard led all scorers with 23 points. He also pulled down nine boards and had two blocks.
 
"Justin had one of his finer games," touted Moore. "He had a couple of shot clock wind downs where he hit threes to give us an extra boost."
 
Moore was also pleased with his team's effort on the boards in the second half.
 
"In the rebounding battle, we were down at halftime by one (17-16), but in the second half, we outrebounded them by seven (19-12)."
 
With five games left in the GSAC regular season, Westmont now has a three-game lead over Menlo (15-7. 9-4) and Arizona Christian (19-6, 9-4), who are tied for second. #12 The Master's (18-6, 8-5) and #21 William Jessup are tied for fourth, one more game back. Vanguard (12-12, 5-7) currently holds the important sixth place, one game ahead of Hope International (15-9. 4-8) for the final GSAC Tournament berth.
 
Next week, the Warriors will host Life Pacific (6-16, 2-10) on Tuesday evening and then travel to Vanguard on Saturday. Winning both games would clinch at least a share of the GSAC regular season championship.