By Jacob Norling
November 14, 2025
 
(HILO, Hi.) Westmont Men's Basketball (0-1) fell in their season opener on Friday night, when the Saint Martin's Saints handed the Warriors a 96-88 defeat. In the first half Westmont struggled to get going offensively, but the same could be said for Saint Martin's. The difference would ultimately be that Saint Martin's struggled to miss in the second, where a 55-point period for the Saints spelled doom in Westmont's season debut.
 
"You've got to give them credit for making the shots," said Westmont head coach Justin Leslie. "We got crushed on the boards, and they had a pretty simple recipe for how they were going to attack. You take a lot of long three's, and long rebounds are usually the results.
 
"That was something that did us in a lot of situations."
 
A first half that saw Westmont trail by as many as ten could have ended much worse for the Warriors, who fortunately found themselves trailing just by one at intermission (41-40). The issue was largely Westmont's inefficiency offensively, both at the line, and in the pace of play. After 20 minutes the Warriors had made only eight of 28 shots from the field (28.6%), and 19 of 28 from the line (67.7%).
 
Westmont made only three of 18 attempts from within the arc, but fortunately for the Warriors they found their touch from three-point land. Westmont converted five of 10 from downtown in the first, with Jarrett Bryant converting three of five on his own. On the other a huge reason the Saints were unable to stretch their lead was that lack of luck from beyond the arc. Saint Martin's pulled the trigger on 17 long-range looks and only came with four three-pointers of their own in half number one. Saint Martin's had their own free throw struggles, with the Saint's making just nine of their 16 chances from the charity stripe.
 
Again, however, it was Saint Martin's who at point led 30-20 with 6:21 remaining in the first half. Westmont ended up scoring 20 points over the half's final 6:04, with three-pointers from both Bryant and JV Brown sparking the run.
 
"We were 2-11 at the rim in the first half," noted Leslie. "I think that was our opportunity to gain some separation. If we made half of those layups, that's a different feeling at the end of that half. Usually we shoot 62% on our layups, at least so far in our exhibitions. That did not carry over tonight.
 
"Maybe that gives us a little bit of a lead at halftime if we make some of those. The reality is it is hard to play catch up on a team like that. When you overextend yourself, they make you play with that three-ball.
 
In the second half a couple three-pointers fell early for Saint Martin's, before a third put the Saint's up 10 nearly 10 minutes into the period (65-55). Three minutes later, another would make it 72-59 in favor of the Saint's. Westmont trailed by as many as 15 but with under four minutes to play a three from Trey Thompson gave the Warriors some life to pull the club within seven (77-70). One more basket from Thompson would make things interesting at the 2:18 mark, as Westmont suddenly saw just a four-point deficit (82-78). As the two sides entered the final minute, however, a pair of free throws from Saint Martin's put the Saints back up by double-digits (90-80). Minutes later, free throw shooting by the Saints secured a 96-88 win over Westmont.
 
After making just four of 17 in the first from three-point land, Saint Martin's converted 10 of their 18 long-range looks in the second. Overall, Saint Martin's shot 54.8% from the field in the second half (17-31), while they also made 11 of their 15 free throws.
 
Speaking to the team's effort on defense, Leslie spoke about some of the difficulties brought on by inclement weather in Hilo. Leaks in Hilo's typical downtown gymnasium left teams scrambling on Friday, unsure if a safe playing surface could be found. When Hilo eventually did move games onto their own campus, similar issues presented themselves in the facility and an abbreviated time to prepare to floor made the playing environment less than ideal.
 
"We weren't able to practice any of the days we were here," explained Leslie. "Even our shootarounds were pretty unsafe. This is not an excuse. Saint Martin's shot the ball extremely well today.
 
"Still, the weather, the rain, and the way it impacted the floor made it difficult. We are a pressing, pressure team. When you're running, cutting, and falling down on those slick floors, the conditions were just very adverse for us. I share that, again, not to make any excuses, but I just feel like tonight wasn't the greatest indication of who we are defensively."
 
Westmont fared much better from the field in the second (17-29), but too many runs from Saint Martin's made it a moot point in a season-opening loss. As a team, Westmont was out-rebounded 49-34.
 
"We actually had an efficient offensive performance tonight," said Leslie, "but the issue was that they had a better offensive performance. Tip your cap to them. They did a heck of a job there. Nowadays these kids are a lot more skilled, and they can take more shots from more places.
 
"I actually where we were beat today was the fact that they were the better passing team. We had a lot of opportunities to get good looks, but it didn't happen because we weren't able to execute a pass where we needed to. There's a lot of things to learn from and improve upon. We will get back to the drawing board and get ready to go tomorrow."