Box Score By Jacob Norling
December 30, 2023
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (5-7, 2-4 PacWest) capped off the calendar year by returning to the win column on the penultimate afternoon of 2023. The Warriors played one of their more complete basketball games of the season, and spent much of the second half leading by more than 20 in an eventual 76-63 win over the Dominican Penguins (4-8, 2-3 PacWest).
 
"I'm super proud of our guys," said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. "To roll in here with such stability and steadiness says a lot about our team. They didn't let anything happening off the floor affect anything that happened on the floor."
 
Thanks in large part to 14 first-half points from Anthony McIntyre, Westmont was able to enter halftime leading by nine at 37-28. Zeke Viuhkola also contributed with seven points in his first start of the season, while both Jarrett Bryant and Jalen Townsell added six points each. Defensively, Westmont put together one of their best halves of the season, holding Dominican to a field goal percentage of just 35.3% (12-25).
 
On their own end of the floor, Westmont shot over 50% during the opening half (14-27). Westmont was also able to take advantage of their trips to the free throw line at an improved mark since Christmas break, with the Warriors converting seven of their first 11 from the stripe.
 
Right out of the locker room Amir Davis got a pair of shots to fall off the glass, causing Dominican to call a timeout not even two minutes into the half. At that point, Westmont had stretched its lead out to 41-28.
 
At the 15:33 mark in the half Dominican scored to make it 45-32, but following the basket, the Penguins went scoreless for over four minutes. During the dry spell, Westmont added insult to injury by going on a 12-0 run to break the game wide open at 57-32. During the run, Anthony McIntyre converted a pair of free throws to push himself beyond the 20-point mark.
 
Westmont pushed its lead to as many as 25 during the half, and while Dominican cut into the deficit in the game's final moments, the outcome of the contest was rarely in question. By the end, McIntyre finished off his career night with 30 points on nine of 13 shooting, while also making 10 of 11 from the line.
 
Bryant finished with 14, while Adrian McIntyre ended the night with 11 points of his own. As a team Westmont shot over 50% from the field (28-54), while also taking advantage of their trips to the free throw line (15-19).
 
"We had a bunch of guys step up," reflected Boucher. "Everyone took care of everything that needed to be taken care of. One thing that won't show up in the box score is Mason Romano and how well he played. I was so proud of Mason tonight. Offensively in the first half he was great, and in the second half, defensively he was a force. He played his best game in a Westmont uniform. Mason changes our dynamic when he plays like that.
 
Boucher continued, "Zeke did not look like a guy who hadn't started a collegiate game. He was so solid, he did an amazing job on Currie, and he was exactly who we needed him to be. It was great to see him have such a well-rounded game without scoring as much as he usually does as well.
 
"Another thing you might not notice is how sound Amir David was tonight. He did so many things to impact this game that don't show up on the stat sheet."
 
In regards to his leading scorer, Boucher said, "Mack is continuing to get better. He's improving on both ends of the floor night in and night out, and he controlled the game from an offensive standpoint. To draw six fouls, and get to the line 11 times, he was just causing chaos for Dominican tonight.
 
"I'm really proud of Mack and his leadership. He looked like a senior tonight."
 
The Warriors will play one more contest before the resumption of classes, with Academy of Art coming to Murchison Gym for a January 5 matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and links to live coverage are available on the Westmont Athletics website.