By Jacob Norling
December 5, 2024
 
(Fresno, Calif.) The sentiment for Westmont Men's Basketball heading into Thursday night's PacWest opener was that no matter what happened during their pre-conference schedule, the club's first conference contest offered a clean slate. After a bittersweet beginning to the year that saw the Warriors go just 1-5 against NCAA Division II schools, Westmont appeared ready for the PacWest moment on Thursday, as they defeated Fresno Pacific 79-62 on the road.
 
"I'm super proud of this win," said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. "We said it. No matter what happened in the pre-conference part of the season, everyone was 0-0 tonight. That always makes for an intense start to the conference season, and I was really proud of how we came out in this one."
 
Last year, Westmont's inaugural season in the PacWest, included an unforgettable quadruple-overtime loss on the same court that offered Warriors a chance to start anew on come Thursday. This time around, the Warriors had no interest in allowing so much as the second-half to remain interesting for the Sunbird faithful. By halftime, Westmont led 44-22, and with more than ten minutes remaining in the second, Westmont's lead expanded to a game-high 32 at 68-36.
 
"To get up 20 points on the road in our first conference game was huge," noted Boucher. "For a lot of guys that was their first time in a conference environment like that, and to make an impact like that so early was so big. That was the game."
 
As a unit, the Warriors shot 59.2% from the field (29-49), but the club's biggest improvement was in their three-point shooting. While their touch from behind the arc had alluded them in many of their pre-conference contests, on Thursday the Warriors drilled 12 of 17 from downtown.
 
Westmont's star senior Adrian McIntyre began his PacWest season with 22 points on nine of 14 shooting to go along with five assists and four rebounds. Senior Drew Ramirez also offered a huge contribution with 16 points, and four huge triples in seven attempts. The biggest and most welcome surprise came from De'Undrae Perteete, who immersed himself in PacWest play with the finest night of his young career.
 
The freshman scored 14 points on five of seven shooting, with the highlight being four makes from beyond the arc in as many attempts. Elsewhere, Mason Romano continued to overpower the opposition inside, both offensively and defensively, as the senior collected 12 points to go along with nine rebounds. Romano also made sure to get in on the three-point party, where the fourth-year made all three of his long-distance attempts.
 
"Mason had another great game around the hoop," assured Boucher. "That's five games in a row now with nine rebounds. He's just doing an amazing job of holding it down in the middle, and also on the offensive end he had five assists. Mason continues to make it easy on us as we're figuring out our offense."
 
Boucher continued, "Drew was amazing tonight, in the first half. He came in focused and he hit some really nice shots early on that really allowed us to settle in. Then for Adrian, he'll continue to score, but what stands out to me is the five assists. Our guys are doing a great job getting open, and then we're doing a great job of finding open guys. Adrian, specifically, is doing a great job of finding guys. We saw a lot of leadership tonight from our three seniors."
 
The Warriors return to action on Saturday in Rocklin, when they battle Jessup at 2:00 p.m. Links to live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.