By Ron Smith
February 5, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (2-2) has a new team record after draining 19 shots from beyond the arc in a 106-78 win over the Red Hawks of Simpson. Seven different Warriors connected from long range as Westmont made 55.9% of its 3-point attempts (19 of 34).
 
Gyse Hulsebosch led the way with five threes while Hunter Sipe tallied four. Abram Carrasco and Noah Fernando each connected for three.
 
In a three-minute stretch in the first half, Westmont sank a 3-pointer on five of six consecutive possessions, resulting in a 19-6 lead.
 
"As late as it is on the calendar year, it feels like it is still November or December where we are trying to figure out who we are as a team," said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. "We are learning lessons as games are being played.
 
"Our main focus was to come out and be ready to play from the jump defensively. The early stops led to momentum offensively. Then it doesn't hurt when Gyse comes out and shoots the way he did to start the game.
 
We shot the lights out, but more importantly, we shared the ball well. We had 27 assists. A lot of those assists resulted in a three. Cade Roth had eight assists, Gyse had seven and Tristan Lloyd had five. Those are all in our starting line-up. Abram, off the bench, had three. We are trying to figure out where to get certain players shots. Tonight we did a good job and it started in the first half."
 
Hunter Sipe tied the previous record of 17 with 6:33 remaining in the game. However, Westmont did not score again from beyond the arc until Josiah Esselstrom came in off the bench and fired off a three with just 1:22 to play. The resulting points were his first of the season.
 
With just 12 seconds remaining in the game, Fernando connected on the final three of the night, pushing the newly-mined record to 19.
 
"It was a team effort and you can see that by the box score," said Boucher. "I was pleased with our improvement on defending for the full game and not letting up because of the scoreboard."
 
Seven different players scored in double figures. Carrasco led the way with 21 followed by Hulsebosch and Ajay Singh with 15 points apiece. Roth and Fernando each scored 13 points while Sipe tallied 12, and Jared Brown notched 10.
 
The Warriors and Red Hawks will meet up again tomorrow for the second game of the series.
 
While state COVID-19 mandates forbid spectators, fans can follow the action on the Westmont Sports Network at https://athletics.westmont.edu or via Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku.