By Ron Smith
February 12, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Abram Carrasco tallied 27 points, seven rebounds and three steals and Cade Roth had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to keep the Lions at bay as Westmont Men's Basketball (3-5, 0-2) suffered a 64-62 loss to Vanguard (6-1, 2-0).
 
The win by Vanguard puts the Lions in the driver's seat for the GSAC West title and with it the automatic berth into the NAIA National Championship.
 
Leading by one point (16-15) with 11 minutes remaining in the first half, the Warriors started putting some distance between themselves and the Lions. Over the next eight and one-half minutes, Westmont produced a 17-3 run to go up 33-18.
 
The Lions closed the gap before halftime with a 6-2 run, resulting in a 35-24 advantage for the Warriors at the intermission.
 
The second half saw the Lions ever so slowly stalk closer to its prey until, with 56 seconds remaining on the clock, James Moore connected on a layup to put Vanguard up 62-61.
 
Vanguard would only score two more points, but turnovers and four missed free throws prevented Westmont from retaking the lead.
 
The two teams will play again tomorrow night at Murchison Gymnasium in a game Westmont will have to win in order to keep any postseason hopes alive. Unfortunately due to state and county mandates forbidding spectators at intercollegiate games, fans will not be permitted to attend. Instead, they can follow the action on Westmont Sports Network at: https://athletics.westmont.edu/video.