By Jacob Norling
December 18, 2024
 
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (5-6, 3-1 PacWest) will enter Christmas break as one of three teams with a 3-1 record in PacWest play, after the Warriors defeated Fresno Pacific (4-8, 0-4) 69-62 on Wednesday night. After a lackluster pre-conference slate the club's idea of a fresh start in PacWest play has seemingly rejuvenated the Warriors, who will play six of their next nine conference games at home once the calendar flips to 2025. All things considered, there is continued reason to be optimistic for Westmont Basketball fans.
 
"It is a great start," said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. "We're getting better, and the guys are really just finding themselves and their roles within this team. You can tell in our execution that guys are understanding who they are, and what their role is.
 
"The scoring will grab your attention, but I tell you, our defense has been nails lately. Tonight, FPU shot just 38% from the field. So, when we're searching on offense sometimes, we are being steadied by our defense. That's huge."
 
While Westmont held FPU to just a 38.8% mark from the field (19-49), the Warriors themselves had some breathing room to work with thanks to a 59.3% clip in the first half (16-27). Westmont once led by as many as 18 points, which meant that the club could afford a cooler second half (7-20), even when Fresno Pacific picked things up offensively.
 
The closest FPU got in the second half was pulling within five on two occasions, but both occasions occurred in the game's 40th and final minute, before the Warriors iced the contest with a pair of trips to the free throw line.
 
Individually, Adrian McIntyre led all scorers with 25 points, with the senior converting all six of his shots from the charity stripe. McIntyre also pulled down four rebounds, and led Westmont with five assists.
 
"After beating them on their home floor, we knew we were going to have to play this game together in order to beat these guys again," reflected McIntyre after the win. "We were better in the first half, definitely, but overall we played really well as a team from top to bottom.
 
"Going into the break 3-1 is huge for us, but we are taking it one game at a time right now, and we know it's a long season."
 
While McIntyre has rightfully headlined most of Westmont's wins this season, Jarrett Bryant's nightly efforts have not gone unnoticed. The latest chapter in Bryant's season saw the junior drop 18 points on six of seven shooting, to go along with eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
On a similar note, De'Undrae Perteete continues to make strides in his freshman campaign, as the first-year contributed with eight points, nine rebounds, and a pair of assists on Wednesday.
 
"Jarrett Bryant was amazing tonight, on both ends," offered Boucher. "He changed the game, and he's doing so in so many more ways than the box score would ever show. De'Undrae was huge on the rebounds as well. He grabbed four offensive rebounds, and I know we scored on two of those. Dre and Jarrett also shared time guarding Isaac Peralta, and man, he's a load to stay in front of. They both did a great job."
 
Boucher added, "I just thought it was a team win. Our rebounds were really spread out, and that's a big goal of ours, to win the rebound battle. When we're that solid on defense, and grabbing rebounds, we can really get going out there. It's coming together."
 
Westmont returns to action on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., when they host Cal Poly Humboldt in a non-conference contest. Links to tickets and live coverage are available on the Westmont Athletics website.