By Jacob Norling
February 21, 2024
 
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (10-15, 6-11 PacWest) was down double-digits with 10 minutes remaining on Wednesday night in San Diego, but at night's end, the final score read 73-71 in favor of the Warriors. After defeating first-place Academy of Art on the road earlier this month, the Warriors knocked off the current-first-place Point Loma Sea Lions (18-8, 13-5) to steal the victory.
 
"All game long, we were scoring," said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. "For much of the night, though, we just couldn't stop them. They're well-coached, organized, and they run a lot of good stuff. That made it tough for most of the night.
 
"We kept trying different things, new lineups, and we just kept encouraging our guys. We hit a few big shots to cut their lead as the game entered its final minutes, and at that point, I think we realized we were still in it."
 
Westmont played PLNU close for much of the first half, with the clubs knotted at 22 at the 6:30 mark. Following a pair of free throws from the Sea Lions, however, the home team went on a 15-3 run over the next four minutes to take control. At the 16:30 mark in the second half, it looked as though the Sea Lions might run away with it, after a layup by Wynton Brown stretched the lead to 13 (50-37).
 
It continued to look like that at the 10:41 mark, when Zack Paulsen finished through the lane to put the home team up 59-45. Instead, the Warriors began to make things interesting thanks to a 9-2 run. Hope truly began to build at the 7:21 mark, when Adrian McIntyre buried a shot from beyond the arc to pull Westmont within seven.
 
"I think that was the shot," explained Boucher. "There were three seconds left on the shot clock, Adrian hit that three, and at that point, it was like everyone looked up at the scoreboard and realized we were still in it. It felt like we were down way more than we were, but after that, it gave us the boost of energy we needed to continue to get stops."
 
Three minutes and a few stops later, McIntyre hit another three, this time making it a four-point game (66-62).
 
After Anthony McIntyre collected another three points for Westmont moments later, Adrian buried another 3-pointer, this one bringing Westmont all the way back to tie it at 68.
 
Then, with 2:21 remaining, Anthony McIntyre converted both ends of an and-one to give the Warriors their first lead at 71-70.
 
After a stop on the other end, Anthony McIntyre drove through the lane with 65 seconds remaining, and continued to build pressure for the home team after converting another layup, this time putting Westmont up three (73-70).
 
With under 30 seconds remaining the Warriors thought Adrian McIntyre was fouled on a layup attempt, but instead, the Sea Lions were awarded the stop, giving them possession down two with 12.4 seconds remaining (73-71).
 
Out of a Point Loma timeout the Warriors played phenomenal defense, not allowing any of the looks the Sea Lions originally drew up. This led to a desperation timeout with exactly three seconds remaining. Out of the final stoppage, the Sea Lions attempted to take a shot from beyond the arc for the win. Amir Davis would be having none of that, however, as instead, the Warrior gave the shooter zero space to work with, and deflected a potential game-winner away as time expired.
 
For the second time in February, the Warriors knocked off the top team in the PacWest in their own gym.
 
"The West Region rankings came out today," noted Boucher, "and Point Loma, Art U, and Montana State-Billings are all in the top-10. We've beaten three of the top-10 teams in the region. We're just trying to take it one day at a time, and we're just trying to get better each and every day.
 
"We're going into games right now knowing we can play defense like we did tonight. When we do that, we're going to be in every single game. The belief is still there at this point in the season, and that's what I'm most proud of."
 
Individually, the night belonged to Adrian McIntyre, who scored a season-high 28 points on 11 of 17 shooting. Adrian knocked down four 3-pointers, a pair of shots at the line, and also grabbed four rebounds and three steals to compliment his evening.
 
Anthony McIntyre had another superb night as his scoring-title chase continues, this time with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists. McIntyre's biggest contribution in the second half came at the line, where he made a perfect six of six from the charity stripe. Davis, the defensive hero at night's end, had 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and five steals.
 
"Adrian just made some huge shots down the stretch," said Boucher. "We did a great job finding him, and he just continued to come up big when we needed it. Another thing that might go unnoticed is Aaron Wadman played amazing defense off the bench.
 
"He really stunted their bigs that we were having trouble with. We decided to go small, and in the end, it worked."
 
The Warriors return to action on Saturday night in Murchison Gym, when the club hosts Hawaii Hilo at 7:30 p.m. Links to live coverage are available on the Westmont Athletics website.