By Jacob Norling
February 1, 2024
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (6-13, 3-9 PacWest) suffered its second overtime loss in the last eight days, this time at the hands of the visiting Hawaii Pacific Sharks (12-7, 7-4). It was a back-and-forth affair all night long, and Westmont led for over 60% of the night, but in the end, it was the Sharks who pulled away with an 82-79 win.
 
A 3-pointer from Mason Romano highlighted a fast start for the Warriors, who made seven of their first 12 from the field. At that point, with 11:11 remaining, Westmont had jumped out to a five-point cushion (16-11). The second media timeout was preceded by another Westmont three, this time by Anthony McIntyre who made each of his first three attempts from the field.
 
Following McIntyre's triple, Westmont maintained their five-point advantage at 22-17. McIntyre later forced a timeout from HPU, after a fast-break layup pushed Westmont's advantage to seven at 24-17 (5:44).
 
By halftime, however, Westmont had cooled down considerably, allowing HPU to knot things at 28 in the final minute of the period. In the half's final possession, Adrian McIntyre converted an acrobatic layup to send the Warriors into the locker room up a pair, giving the younger McIntyre a team-high 11 points at intermission.
 
HPU tied it twice early on in the second half, but going into the first media stoppage Adrian McIntyre continued to see his point total go up, this time by wearing contact and converting at the rim. With 15:47 remaining, McIntyre's layup kept Westmont ahead 41-39.
 
As the game entered the 14-minute mark, however, a pair of events caused havoc for the Warriors. On the offensive end, Adrian McIntyre missed a layup and then was slow to get up after landing awkwardly. Not only was the leading scorer forced to hop off the floor, but on the other end, HPU converted a basket in transition to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the contest (45-44). At the next media timeout (11:58), McIntyre appeared ready to check back in with the Warriors trailing 47-44.
 
The first possession out of the timeout, the older McIntyre knocked down his third triple of the night, knotting things at 47. At the next media timeout came at the 7:52 mark, and at that point, the teams continued to trade blows to a 52-52 tie.
 
Westmont finally saw the lead begin to expand again when at the five-minute mark, Adrian McIntyre re-joined the party with his second 3-pointer of the night. At that point, Westmont led by four at 62-58. At the point of the game's final media timeout (3:53), however, HPU once again tied the game with a pair of free throws.
 
With 3:20 remaining, it was Drew Ramirez' turn to claim the spotlight, when he drilled a tie-breaking 3-pointer in his first game since the fifth of January. A minute later, though, HPU once again answered, tying it at 69 with a three of their own.
 
The game entered its final minute still tied at 69, and then, with 53.1 seconds remaining, the Sharks sent Anthony McIntyre to the free throw line. From the line, McIntyre collected his 14th and 15th points of the night to put the Warriors up a pair (71-69).
Out of the timeout, the Sharks once again tied it at 71, leading to a Boucher timeout with 36.5 seconds on the clock. Out of the huddle, the Warriors held the ball until the 15 seconds, then emptied the paint to give Amir Davis a one-on-one opportunity.
 
Davis drove, evaded his defender, and rather easily dropped in a go-ahead bucket with 12 seconds remaining. The Sharks then brought the ball up the floor and called timeout with 8.1 seconds remaining. Out of the huddle, the Sharks successfully converted a contested layup in the final seconds of regulation. After an errant full-court heave at the buzzer, the Warriors were forced to play in their second overtime game in the last eight days.
 
On the first possession of overtime, HPU converted on both ends of a three-point play, immediately putting pressure on the Warriors who faced a 76-73 deficit. With three minutes to play Jalen Townsell finished a layup off the glass, pulling Westmont within one. Then, after a defensive stop, Townsell got another to fall off the bank, putting Westmont up 77-76 with two minutes remaining.
 
HPU continued to come back, however, hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer as overtime entered its final minute. Trailing 79-77, Anthony McIntyre was sent to the free throw line, where the senior converted both to tie it at 79.
 
With 20 seconds on the clock the Warriors forced a miss, but a crucial offensive rebound for the Sharks led to an easy second-chance basket, putting HPU up 81-79. Once again, Boucher called timeout, but this time, the Warriors were unable to answer.
 
With five seconds on the clock, a contested layup would not fall for the Warriors, forcing Westmont to send the Sharks to the line in the game's final seconds. HPU converted one of two to go up 82-79 with 1.9 on the game clock. Westmont had an opportunity at a last-second three depending on a successful inbound, but a hail-Mary pass was intercepted at mid-floor, leading to another stomach-crunching loss in overtime.
 
Individually, Adrian McIntyre led the club with 23 points, while his older brother added in 17. Davis, who scored 12 points himself, led the team with 11 rebounds.
 
The Warriors return to The Murch on Saturday at 4:00 p.m., when they host the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs in a non-conference matchup. Links to tickets and live coverage are available on the Westmont Athletics website.